


Silent Feathers

by WriterandArtist27



Series: Starry Sky [4]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Crossover, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Needs A Hug, Fluff, Found Family, Friends Relying on Each Other, Friendship, Friendship for the win, Gen, Nonbinary Character, Platonic Relationships, Self-Insert, Short-Story-Collection-Turned-Series, implied/referenced trauma, lots of hugs, multiple OCs - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-18
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2019-10-08 15:26:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 50,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17388917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WriterandArtist27/pseuds/WriterandArtist27
Summary: Botched reincarnation rarely struck more than once. Twice was one thing. But three times? The ninja world unknowingly welcomes Team Reincarnation, or Team "No-Taking-Bullshit." (A Sea and Stars spinoff story collection originally started by Beta from CYB and published with permission.)





	1. The Start of Everything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story? Was made for a birthday, and I can't thank Beta enough for it. Please go and give them the thanks for allowing me to post the beginnings of Otoha's story. All I did was add on edits and write more short fics that went onto being compiling into this whole thing. — Vy

There are some things that scar the mind forever, events that rewire the brain and affect its very structure. Soul scars I had called them. Something that, like the very essence of who a person was, would carry over across lifetimes.

Turned out I was right.

Not that it made me feel any better, not when I came to consciousness unable to move, confined, surrounded by liquid I couldn't escape from. Some things transferred over apparently, and my hypersensitivity to touch and fear of confinement counted.

It didn't take long for me to meltdown.

I was still autistic. I was still me.

It didn't take long for me to figure out where I was, what was going on, that instead of simply disappearing into the entropy of the universe, I was being reborn, flesh and blood, with all my memories intact. I'd survived so much shit in my life, apparently survival was just written into my soul as well. Not even death could really kill me.

Fortunately the inside of a womb was blessedly free of loud noises and bright lights. But the sense of liquid touching me, constant, incessant, was too much. The feel of something new too, energy flowing through my body like electricity. It was the energy from when I was manic, but it was constant, tangible, and never went away, even when I was so exhausted I couldn't stay awake.

I stimmed, in what ways my developing fetus of a body allowed me, and paid as much attention to the outside world as I could. My new parents spoke to me frequently, and something about growing a new brain made my mind exceptionally good at figuring out what they spoke.

Ah, to have the neuroplasticity and language acquisition skills of an infant. I was learning Japanese! At least they provided me with the human interaction required to keep my solitary confinement from being isolation.

I still melted down. I still kicked and squirmed and cried. All things babies were supposed to do, so at least I didn't face the ableism I had as an adult in my previous life.

At least my parents found it amusing. "Wow! Such a strong kicker! You could grow up and be a ninja!" they'd say when I flailed my arms and poked back when they poked me.

At least all the meltdowns made me exhausted so I slept. I think they appreciated that. When I went still and didn't kick internal organs. It let them rest.

At least their voices and excitement and constant talking to me kept me up to day on my impending arrival. I'm not sure who was more excited for me to be born, me, or them.

I do have to say, their sheer joy at my existence, the knowledge I was loved already, it was healing. I loved them back, fiercely, the moment their blurry blurry faces came into my existence.

They named me Otoha. They were Haha and Chichi, mom and dad. Our last name was Kuroki. They owned a bookstore. Kuroki Books. (I read everything I could and felt very much like Matilda.)

They taught me a lot more words after that. And I learned them, my brain soaking up everything like a sponge. It was a dream come true. I'd be able to learn everything.

I already knew how a lot of the world worked, and I was still me. I was also Otoha, loved child of Haha and Chichi. I knew if I had soiled my diaper or was hungry my parents would take care of me. I knew that. They loved me and were attentive. So I didn't make much of a fuss. I didn't get scared when they left me alone. I pointed when I needed something. I didn't make them play fetch while I learned about gravity and object permanence.

Somehow though, playing peekaboo is always fun. It doesn't matter if you're the baby. Anyone who plays with you, they're excited, and happy. It was an odd experiment, a sociologists dream, of being a baby and seeing how people suddenly become softer at my presence, where stern old men in green vests break into smiles and funny faces when noone but me can see.

Overall, I was a pretty calm baby. I let them sleep. Through the night. They were excited about that. Everyone else was really jealous. But hey, it was the least I could do when they took care of my every need, and as a baby, I wasn't capable of doing it myself.

Other things they were proud of: I learned to sit up, crawl, and walk early. I listened when people told me things. I ate my food - when I wasn't be incredibly picky and finickey, but I loved my vegetables. I even ate carrots! I loved carrots! Nobody loved carrots!

Things that worried them though: I babbled, I picked up words and repeated them, and did so as soon as I could get my mouth to cooperate, but surrounded by a sensation I hadn't habituated to, I was nearly nonverbal. I rarely spoke. I stimmed. And I remained quiet. And they worried. When I didn't keep up with my peers in speaking, when I continued to listen, but not respond, only speaking nonsense syllables and sounds, they worried.

I told them not to, that sometimes it was just hard, but they worried.

Still, I excelled in other areas. My balance and hand-eye coordination was something I had to relearn, but with the patience of an already adult mind, I mastered walking and running and jumping and climbing. The last two made Haha and Chichi get really worried about me, constantly trying to keep me from hurting myself, but I wanted to learn.

The green vests and black and navy uniforms. The headbands with a metal brace and a leaf on them. I knew what those meant. And I knew where it meant I was. Sometimes Haha and Chichi would put them on and disappear for a while, but one of them always remained at home.

Five years of my previous life had been steeped in the Naruto Universe thanks to my best friend. I didn't know everything, and there was a ton I didn't know or understand, but I knew enough.

I knew enough to know the ceaseless current of energy running through my body was chakra. That I was in Konoha. That regardless of how I ended up here, I had the knowledge, and thus the obligation, to change things for the better.

I just had to figure out when I was. And what version.

* * *

Unlike with my old body, my new one wasn't disabled by genetics. I won the genetic lottery this time around. I could run, I could climb, I could swim, I could skip, I could tumble and fight. I could do anything I wanted.

I could be a ninja.

Which, if I were to help change things for the better, I'd need to be anyway.

I was lucky, I guess, that my new parents were ninja. I was super lucky that Haha as a kunoichi had been trained how to use fans. In my last life, they had been a special interest. In this life, they still were. And I got to learn how to fight with them! Tessenjutsu? Hell yeah!

Anyway, having ninja parents gave me a headstart on everything. And with my desire to learn? Well, I guess I became another one of those child geniuses who would garner attention.

So, that was how I ended up handing my parents the academy entrance form with everything already filled out.

(My handwriting was so much better this time round! Lucky me!)

I was young, five, but it was the same age I had entered kindergarten in my other life, and unlike last time, I knew how to spell my name. And well, basically a lot more things. I was also more than prepared.

So, that was how I, Otoha Kuroki, walked in for my first day at school. Soft shirt, stretchy pants, and my notebook in my arms because my backpack was filled with books. (At least the nice thing about my parents owning a bookstore was they knew where to get new ones, and so long as I didn't break the spine, they could sell the books after I finished reading them. I think they ended up buying and selling used books as well to keep up with my reading.)

I'd always been called a genius, always been considered smart, so when I effortlessly passed every test with flying colors, I simply looked to fly higher.

I wanted to learn though. Which was why I remained in class while the other "natural geniuses" quickly appeared and graduated. I think I saw his white hair once? I'm not really sure. People talked about him, but I didn't pay that much attention. I was a little busy reading. Anyway, I'm pretty sure that was the ever famous and popular Kakashi Hatake.

Still, there was only so long the academy could entertain me, and only so long I could put off graduation when every adult said I was ready. And, well, I mean, when I purposefully did the math and got just enough questions wrong on the final graduation tests to keep myself from graduating so I could keep studying… well, it wasn't a popular decision and everyone knew what was happening.

I'm pretty sure they decided I'd graduate before I did. I was too smart. I was too skilled. I was wasting my talent. The village was wasting a valuable resource by letting me remain in the academy. My parents were urging me to pursue things that would challenge me. Haha had an anbu tattoo on her arm, so she knew a thing about ambition and challenge.

Which, I guess means I shouldn't have been surprised when ANBU showed an interest. And it made sense. I was exceptional, and I wasn't tied to any clans or village powers. I had been trained since birth by a — possibly retired — ANBU agent. Otoha Kuroki was a ripe plum for the picking.

As for my genin team? Well, I met them after classes ended for the day. We were in different years, but once we became genin, it didn't matter. We were a team. And I had to meet them, and our Jonin Sensei.

So, I picked up my books and my fan - this one was metal and lace, the perfect combination of fashion and function. It also made a really really lovely sound when I opened and closed it. It was by far my favorite. And the fact I had learned nature manipulation — mine happened to be wind — to make the edge sharp enough to give people a killer papercut with just a paper fan… well. I was a huge fan of fans.

"The silent shinobi, Otoha Kuroki," one of my teammates said, his voice clearly meant to mock me.

Shinobi? Bah. I was gonna be an airbender. A mini Avatar Kyoshi — except with just wind… a second elemental manipulation much less a third or fourth… Yeah, not gonna happen. So I was more like a nonbinary Kyoshi Warrior who could airbend. Ok really, there's not that good enough of an analogy. I was a shinobi trained in tessenjutsu with a wind nature manipulation.

(And I may have gone for another fan wielding person as a favorite echolalia. _Get off the roof, get off the roof, get off the roof._ )

I closed my fan, slipping it into my pocket and jumped down from the roof of the building to meet my new teammate. Katsuo Uchiha. 9 years old. Top of his class, except he really wasn't. He was good at Taijutsu and Ninjutsu, but he had passed most of his written exams by copying off others. Still, at least when we took the Chunin Exam I could count on him to get the information.

Our third teammate arrived shortly after that, without any quippy comment, just silent respect. Hibiki Hyuga, 8 years old, was a branch house member and as obedient in school as he was expected to be towards the main house members. He had earned his exam scores. All of them.

And then there was me. Otoha Kuroki. 7 years old. Technically top of the class, and functionally mute. I could talk, sometimes, but it was easiest just to let people think I couldn't. They tended to react better when it was an "all the time" thing than a "some of the time" thing.

Our team was loaded. If someone wanted to stack the deck during a Chunin Exam. Well, our team would do it. An Uchiha with their Sharingan (which had developed early for reasons I immediately wanted to punch someone's lights out for) and a Hyuga with the Byakugan. And then a clanless ninja who wore glasses. Guess someone had to pick up the slack for the great eyesight. But hey, I could hold them onto my face with chakra via the leaf trick!

"Oh good, you're all here!" A loud boisterous voice called out, right as a burst of smoke made me hide my nose in my shirt collar. Our sensei, Akemi Sarutobi, appeared in the space between my two teammates, slamming her hands down on each of their shoulders. "We need to get to know each other, so we're gonna have a chat." She grinned, and turned her head to look at my two very unimpressed teammates. "I need coffee. Shall we?"

All three of us stared at her. She winked at me.

"Nagareboshi Cafe," she said, "don't be late," and disappeared in another puff of smoke and burst of chakra.

* * *

While Kastuo Uchiha took off, loudly proclaiming he would get there first, I simply turned and ran. Easily crossing the streets and dodging through the crowd in a game I had made up before the academy as training, I reached the cafe before either of my teammates. Although that was likely because I knew the cafe and I'm not sure either of them did.

So, I perched on a roof across the street, in clear view of the table Akemi-Sensei had claimed, and waited to see who arrived. And I pulled my fan out, stimming with it.

_Sck schk schk schk_

My Hyuga teammate arrived soon after I did, politely asking for directions and bowing when he received them. The Uchiha arrived long enough after that I had considered simply going in without waiting to see if he made it.

I hopped off the roof the moment his posture shifted and he noticed the cafe with the large sign out front.

"Next time you get lost, Katsuo, ask for directions. Getting help isn't weakness," Akemi-Sensei said as we entered. "And Otoha, you may be good at gathering information, but you need to learn to share it with your allies. Intel does nothing if the people who need it don't have it."

I nodded, and sat down at the table in the spot between Sensei and Hibiki.

"You are all excellent shinobi on your own," Akemi-sensei said, as she handed out the menus. "But you are on a team now. You have missions. You need to learn to work together and use your skills for the benefit of all."

She paused as the waitress came over, taking our orders. I pointed at the menu to communicate, and the others spoke. Once our drinks and treats arrived, (green tea and strawberry mochi for me) our sensei pulled out files and paper.

"These are your files," she said, handing one to each of us, "I want you to look at them, recognize your strengths and weaknesses, then tell me how you can work together as a team."

While the pianist, Tomoko, the daughter of the cafe owners, played in the background, and her chakra flared in my peripheral senses, I opened my file. That friendship was a previous life. This life was written down on paper right in front of me.

_Otoha Kuroki_

I skimmed over my height and weight. I was small for my age. Teeny tiny. At least puberty promised a growth spurt in a few years. But both my parents were short in this life as well, so genetics meant my growth spurt didn't promise too much.

My stats were… well, I thought I'd be better. But I guess talent was relative. Compared to academy students, I was great. Compared to the rest of the shinobi, I was well, a genin. My parent had shinobi, which had given me more of an advantage than civilian kids. I'd been a natural at manipulating chakra, thanks to being hypersensitive to it and everything else, but I was small. My strength and stamina were abysmal. I was fast, but again, speed was relative. I was fast for a seven year old, but an adult could easily run circles around me.

Ninjutsu: 3. Thanks to my ability to do wind release no doubt.

Taijutsu: 2.5 Thanks to applying myself and getting an early start. My tessenjutsu also likely bumped up this score.

Genjutsu: 2. That probably should have actually been lower. My chakra control was good, but I still had the habit of accidentally dispelling my own genjutsu.

Intelligence: 4. Thanks, Brain.

Strength: 1. But hey, I could do a pull-up. I could do a lot of them actually. Woo ninja muscles.

Speed: 2. Just wait until I get longer legs.

Stamina: 1.5. It was probably realistically higher, I just went through more of my chakra than others having meltdowns. But, thankfully those got fewer the older I got.

Hand Signs: 3. Well, at least stimming by making them helped me somewhere.

Total: 19.

But stats didn't show the whole picture. They didn't explain why I had the scores I did. They didn't cover the ability to retain and recall anything I read or saw or heard. They didn't cover my prodigic chakra control. They didn't cover my personality. They didn't cover my ability to cope.

The notes that followed it did. They read like what I'd imagine a CIA file would, with lines blacked out and all that. Except nothing was actually blacked out.

It ran down a list of observations that clearly hadn't been made solely by my academy instructors. They had the notes from my academy instructors, things they would have easily gathered by observing me in class and reading my exams.

The rest, they were from other sources. Someone, or many someones, had been observing me. A quick scan of the area, searching for any chakra flares didn't turn up anyone suspicious, but that didn't mean they weren't there. After all, if they were careless enough to be caught by a kid, they weren't very good.

It covered my independent studies. My breakthrough on applying my nature manipulation to senbon, kunai, and fans. In learning a few wind release jutsu. The hours I had spent after school and homework practicing my tessenjutsu.

A handful of words were scattered about. Key words. Things they were looking for in potential recruits. Resolve. Determination. Adaptability. Skilled. Talent. Sensor. Observant. Dedication. Discipline. Ingenuity. Innovative. Superior Memory. Resiliency. Things that would make me an exceptional shinobi. Things that showed I was already able to cope with the violence and death that came with being a shinobi. Which was half just living for two decades in my old life in literal hell, and half having been given access to actual therapy. Mental Health. It's Important.

It didn't take me long to read through it, and I looked up at my Jonin-Sensei while my teammates finished looking over theirs so we could swap.

She was buff, and wore her sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Headband over her bicep. Her spiky brown hair was short, and her eyes watched all three of us for reactions.

So, this was part of the test too.

I gave a small smirk once she locked eyes with me. I know. Sensei gave me a small nod and took another sip of her coffee.

Already aware of my strengths and weaknesses, I closed the file before I leaned back and observed the room.

Tomoko, the pianist, was effortlessly playing the music by memory, and the tune tripped something in my mind, some forgotten song I'd known once upon a time. Vy, the person she had been in a previous life, had had widely different tastes in music than I did. The song she played was likely from some video game I had never played or anime I never watched but had heard clips from.

I shook the thought from my mind and resumed my study of the room, and my teammates.

Katsuo stared at his file, brow knit together and sharingan spinning. He was trying real hard to figure it out.

Look beneath the underneath.

At least he had figured out there was something more to see.

Hibiki meanwhile was staring at me. "Uh, would you like to trade files?" he asked.

I slid mine across to him. It was definitely one way to gather information, and share it.

"Wait, are you allowed to do that? Sensei!"

"Katsuo," I said, and both my teammates turned to me. "This is about information. We have it. We share it. We don't know each other, so this is how we learn to work as a team." We needed to know each other's strengths and weaknesses in order to learn how we worked together.

"I was not aware you could talk," Hibiki said, glancing up from my file.

"That is why we are sharing files," I said, and glanced down at Hibiki's file.

His intelligence and Taijutsu stood at a solid three, the rest of his stats were solid if slightly lower. What the stat block didn't cover was his byakugan and ability to see the chakra system, to target the points. He could be more accurate than I could be with attacks. And he didn't need a weapon to do it. The Gentle Fist Style was powerful.

"Katsuo," I said, and held out the file to switch.

"You're done already?" Hibiki asked.

"Perfect Memory," I quoted from my file, and traded.

Katsuo Uchiha. His Ninjutsu was a 4. His taijutsu and genjutsu were both a 3. His stamina was a 3.5. His Hand Signs sat at a respectable 2.5. His intelligence was a 1.5. His speed and strength were low as well. But it still resulted in the highest total out of our group.

I had definitely underestimated him.

"Wow, Hibiki, your scores suuuuuuuck!" Katsuo said.

Well, tact was definitely not one of his skills.

"The total is only one point lower than yours," I said, and flipped to the notes on his.

Sharingan. He had activated it a year ago, an in the time since then had collected an impressive list of jutsu. He had fire release. He was even more of a physical threat than Hibiki.

I was, well, I wasn't a clan kid. I didn't have any kekkei genkai that made me stand out from the crowd with special abilities nobody else had. Theoretically, both my teammates could learn everything I could do. Hell, if we sparred enough Katsuo was likely to pick up my tessenjutsu. But that didn't mean I wasn't a threat. I had been trained by my parents, one of which who had definitely belonged to ANBU at some point.

But whatever those additional notes had been for, Katsuo wasn't a good fit. He was well, loud and obvious. The notes had focused on stealth and well, not being obvious.

Hibiki wasn't a good fit either. His personality was a little too, well, he was a doormat.

Neither of them had the additional, out of classroom notes. Nothing that couldn't have been observed from the academy.

So, whatever the extra thing I was meant to find was only for me. My scores were the lowest, and frankly on paper I didn't look like much of anything. I was firmly in the middle in terms of being a shinobi. But my other skills, the ones that made me stand apart. Those were the same things somebody was looking for.

I kept that bit to myself though, and shared the rest with the class.

We'd work well together. Assuming our personalities didn't clash.


	2. Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The continuation of the first chapter, and the real moment that solidified this spin-off becoming its own story. THANK OS. — Vy

I didn't return to Nagareboshi Cafe for a while after that. I focused on training. I did my missions. I pushed myself, I tried to find as many applications for Wind Release as I could. And with a whole slew of fantasy series to pull from, I made a pretty good substitute for an airbender.

I also learned who had been watching me and what my mysterious tests over the previous months were for: ANBU. Of course, I wasn't even eight yet. So they just watched me. And if I wanted to join them, I needed to impress them.

But, until then, I went on missions with my team and Akemi-sensei. There was a Chunin Exam six months after our graduation, and while it was certainly unusual for a genin team to be entered into one that close to their graduation, well, it wasn't unheard of. And also? We were ready.

And with tensions rising between the nations, well, Konoha wanted to appear strong. So, they allowed us. Genin, fresh out of the academy, willing and able to pass the chunin exam.

My team demolished the tests. I think I unnerved some of the people, going in knowing the tricks for the written exam. I didn't get nervous. I didn't show any confusion. Just calm, quiet, patience as I waited for my team members to do the work.

I also somehow got super lucky by being placed right next to one of the plants. Guess the universe decided it was already going to be a cake walk so they just gave up.

The big free for all battle survival test in the field thing, we crushed that too. It was significantly harder than going in already knowing the trick for the written test, but well, this was about skills we already had.

It was funny, I thought, as I sat watch in another village. I knew basically nothing about them, only what I had been taught in the academy. That was at least a little interesting for me. The maladaptive parts of my brain, the ones that made me hyper aware of my surroundings, made me react to any threat before I even was consciously aware of it, they made me excel.

PTSD was a survival mechanism after all. And I was right back in the environment it had rewritten my brain to survive.

Well, at least I didn't have to worry about developing it in the field. And I'd already had two decades worth of experience coping with it, on top of learning in the ninja world. And hey, even though I'd had plenty of near death experiences in my past life, I'd actually died once, so that's one point of experience I'm not sure too many other ninja had.

But despite my thoughts and morbid humor, I came out of the experience with a nice green flak jacket. Its weight was wonderful. Super great for pressure stimming. And making my chest flat.

I may have spent more time than anyone who wasn't some middle school protagonist staring at myself in the mirror after that. Brown hair cut short and messy, brown eyes, glasses, and the standard shinobi uniform. I looked perfectly androgynous.

And then, I got stuck with paperwork. Which was perfectly fine with me. As Chunin Otoha Kuroki, I worked in the administrative building filling out forms, filing paperwork, generally navigating the maze of bureaucracy. I think they started liking me. I was always happy to do their paperwork. (Reading all those things, I learned a lot. A lot of things they probably shouldn't have let me access, but when you volunteer to do someone's paperwork they've put off for a month? Well, let's just say sometimes clearance levels don't matter.)

But with a war brewing, Konoha wouldn't let one of their brightest minds squalor away helping make sure all the triplicate forms were actually filled out in triplicate. No.

They put me to work. I went into the field. They sent shinobi — chunin — to the borders as hostilities ramped up. I knew these skirmishes and fights would eventually result in the Third Shinobi War and I tried to get as much information as I could back to Konoha in hopes maybe someone somewhere who had died in a version I wasn't there could live.

Somehow I just ended up with a reputation for knowing things. For learning things. I had an entire elaborate system for writing my notes in a code nobody could crack. (Did I mention English isn't even a language in Naruto Land?) I picked up new skills and worked on creating my own.

After all, I had plenty of things in fiction to inspire me. They'd all required some kind of magic, and well, now that I had ninja-magic-bullshit powers, I could take a stab at them.

Wind Release? As I said, I made a pretty good impression of an airbender. While I couldn't technically fly, I could definitely glide with style. At least once I recreated Aang's glider. With metal reinforcements. Temari and her fans in canon had proved the theory worked in this world. Even if she probably wouldn't be born for another few years.

It took a bit to figure out how to make it work, and the design definitely needed more work. Not being able to use my hands was kind of a big drawback. (I attempted figuring out sealless jutsu but some things you just can't work around.) But I did have one thing they probably didn't: the knowledge of how to make things fly. I'd spent a quarter of a century in a world that had long since mastered airplanes and was working on space travel. And, unlike most people, was a nerd and knew seemingly useless things, like how to make a glider.

Turns out that knowledge wasn't actually useless.

I could fly. Go me!

I pushed my wind release skills as far as I could, and both my mother and my fans helped tremendously in it. I could shield myself with wind from oncoming projectiles. I could clear smoke and fog. I could manipulate the air currents around me. And I could sharpen the tip of a senbon enough I could send it through the trunk of a tree and out the other side. Which was great, because as well as allowing me to play a game of pickup sticks, I could fit a whole lot more of them in a weapons pouch than kunai.

And that was all before war officially broke out.

When it did?

Being able to fly wasn't enough. So I picked up fuinjutsu. I made exploding tags. I made bombs. I sealed them inside scrolled and released dozens and hundreds at a time. I did my best impersonation of a cactuar with 1000 needles. I moved the ninja world into modern warfare and conducted aerial bombing (ok not really, they needed more than just a single person for that). At least the enemy didn't have anti-aircraft missiles.

I technically created a mini bag-of-holding. Well, scroll of holding. Technically it just let me store shit in seals and wasn't an endless alternate dimension but well, I still called it that. Oh? Also? They don't rip a hole in the fabric of the universe if you stick em inside each other. I had a certain Keisuke Gekkō to thank for the inspiration to create one.

But it also allowed me to do things like pick up corpses and transport them back to ANBU R&D for study. Often a lot of corpses my team and I had been sent to kill. Enemies who posed a greater threat because they possessed unique abilities.

That got me recruited into ANBU after years of being watched, which was how the owl (that's me!) ran into the snake.

That's right. I landed my ass in Orochimaru's good graces. He liked me. Eeeeee yelch.

And, to make things worse, I ended up working with him.

Otoha Kuroki, airbender impersonator, organ donor courier, Orochimaru's lab assistant.

Fortunately, Orochimaru liked me for my mind, not my body. So I was safe. Relatively. Mostly. Not really. It was fucking Orochimaru. Nobody who was anywhere near him was safe.

Well, at least the position allowed me to do one thing I knew needed to be done: bring Orochimaru down.

I knew how he worked. I knew not to trust him. I knew not to be blinded by the progress he was making and everything.

And I knew to ensure nothing happened to me, I needed to become Otoha Kuroki again. I needed to become someone who would be missed if they went missing. So, I took extra shifts in the administration building, I studied while I manned the counter at my parents' bookstore.

I braved the one thing I had avoided, inserting myself into the lives my friends from another life had established here, without me. And I wasn't even doing it because they were once my friends. It was because of the people she knew in this life.

Keisuke Gekkō. Student of Minato Namikaze. Soon to be host to Isobu if everything went as it did in the fanfiction we had written so many years ago.

I shook my head and stared at the two girls hugging each other and laughing inside Nagareboshi Cafe. They were happy. Things were better. They had made things better. And what had I done? Created a new way to kill people? Helped Orochimaru with his experiments? I was responsible for so many of the heartbreaks she was going to face. Obito would die in a few years to get captured by Madara.

She likely would have no idea who I was. What was I to say? "Hello, Keisuke Gekkō, I'm your best friend, but you don't remember me." And to Tomoko? She was created before I really became friends with Vy. "Hello, Tomoko, I know you have no idea who I am, but I was friends with Vy, a Vy who didn't die and instead read this fanfiction of a story I created with a version of Kei named Lang who didn't die."

Yeah. That would go great. Mostly because they'd want to know more. Or they'd hate me. Hate me for all the pain I'd already put them through and all the pain I knew they'd end up with in the future.

Kei swore Kishi's name when something bad happened from canon. Her entire life. I was responsible for that. I wasn't really any better than Orochimaru was. Sure, I hadn't thought the creations on a page I wrote with my best friend were real people, but they were real in my head. I was worse than Orochimaru.

I was the very god I called an asshole.

Everything happens for a reason. Yeah. And that reason is I'm a fucking dick. "It's all for the story." I was a hypocrite, that's what I was.

Well, I needed the protection of Minato Namikaze because if I was going to survive Orochimaru, I needed allies strong enough to cause a riot if I went missing.

I rolled my shoulders and stuck my hands in the pockets of my black ninja pants, running my thumb over the butt end of my fan for the tactile sensation. I clicked my teeth.

Well, if I was going to become friends with the self-insert version of my best friend in a fanfiction I wrote with her, the least I could do was bring a book.

So of course I went for another layer of "this is just so many levels of meta" and brought her a travel book for Mount Soragami, Sorayama-no-sato and the Chinatsugumi. Plus side to my parents owning a bookstore I guess. It was an old copy of mine, one I had read through a million times and written so many notes in English in the margins, desperately missing the connections from my old life.

And now, here they were, in front of me, just a few steps away, inside the building, the cafe, the Nagareboshi Cafe, the cafe where Tomoko worked. And I was avoiding actually going inside by repeatedly thinking the same thing.

Ugh. My hands wanted to hold the fan and flip them open and shut. I wanted to get lost in that sound.

So many people whose lives I wanted to be a part of but couldn't. It wasn't my place.

Maybe it would be better if I did what I had to, and let whatever happened to me happen. Aaaaand I was doing that thing again where I made my chakra functionally undetectable, pulling it back within myself. Shrinking. Hiding.

_No, self. We gotta do this. Slimy snake-man is going down and you gotta be around long enough to see it happen._

Why was this scaring me more than mother-fucking Orochimaru?

Whatever my chakra was doing, well, it was certainly enough to get Kei's attention. Her own chakra laid over the area, heavy like a mist, and I shook the nerves out of my arms. Her sense was like radar, pinging off things and giving her information. Mine was more like well, sitting in a field and watching fireflies. A shark, smelling blood in the water. A ship looking for the lighthouse.

Aaaaaaaa. I was such a coward.

Yup. This was why I had spent a decade of my new life avoiding the versions of my friends that existed.

I took out a slip of paper and wrote a quick note: Hello, Keisuke Gekkō. My name is Otoha Kuroki. Come visit me at the Kuroki Bookstore.

Well, I was always better at writing things down than saying them. Slipping it into the back of the book, I determinedly walked forward.

_The door is a pull. The door is a pull._

Ok, managed that. Now, for the hard part.

Tomoko and Kei sat at the piano, talking over something I couldn't quite make out. The extra noise from the music made it hard and I didn't feel like staring long enough to read their lips. Yeah, that thing I said about soul scars? Social Anxiety was still a thing. And in this life, it applied to people it hadn't in the previous one.

But really? There really isn't any protocol for walking up to a person as a complete stranger and handing them a book revealing you're a botched reincarnation as well. Like, there simply weren't enough cases for a protocol to be a thing.

Ugh. Why couldn't there be a socially acceptable script for this.

_Fortify, Otoha. Fortify. You got this._

And Kei went to go get something. Ok. I could do Tomoko alone. I could do that.

I walked right up to Tomoko and I probably intimidated her a bit, or a lot. I mean, I was short and lean, but I was also a Shinobi in a green vest staring very intently at her. My deer-in-the-headlights look always came off as more a if-you-cross-me-I-will-murder-you look so yeah. Useful in the field, not so much when trying not to scare the living daylights out of a civilian pianist. Killing intent, it was killer.

"Could you please give this to Kei," I said, and shoved the book into her hands. Without another word I ninja-ran-away.

Heart beating a million miles an hour, I ended up back in my parents bookstore.

"Otoha, honey, are you ok? Is something wrong?" Haha asked as I stumbled into a shelf and knocked the display down.

"I'm fine," I called out, hands shaking, voice shaking.

What a mess I was.

"Ok, well, let me know if you need anything, I'm going to be in the back."

"Will do, mom."

At least there were unequivocally good things in this life, and a loving family was one of them.

Resetting the display was a nice distraction, and by the time I was done setting up the travel guides my nerves had calmed down. Which meant all that was left was to take advantage of my long weekend off and man the counter. Wait for Kei.

Yep. Not hard at all. I had been on tougher missions. Longer stake outs. Worse conditions.

Did I mention I was nervous?

Maybe I should have just given her a book titled: How To Tell Your Friend You're Reincarnated Too.

I pulled out my fuinjutsu supplies and started making exploding tags and smoke tags and basically anything else that let me fall into a zone of repeating the same strokes over and over and over again. At least my habit for making them when I got nervous, and getting nervous a lot, meant that I always had plenty on hand.

I was a better Tenten than Tenten. Well, except for the fact she could fight with practically any weapon and utilized wire and string. So I wasn't really her at all. I just stored a lot of senbon and exploding tags in my scroll of holding and was able to release them a whole butload at a time.

I spread out a large piece of paper over the counter top and formed a hand seal. Wind Release: Paper Cutting Jutsu. And just like that I turned the air into my scissors, cutting the paper into smaller tag sized pieces.

That had taken a while to learn. Learning to make razor wind? Easy enough. It was one of the earlier stages of my wind release stuff. But making it precise enough I could cut paper cleanly and accurately? Well, let's just say I made a lot of confetti. Which was also a pretty good thing to unseal in a burst and confuse your opponent while you escaped, or shanked them in the neck.

I was still working on making it strong enough to turn a log into splinters. Unsealing Jutsu: Splinter Confetti. That's what I was gonna call it when I unsealed all the results of my attempts to do so.

And the ability to cut people to shreds with a garbage disposal made of air? Well, that sounded pretty useful too. Probably wasn't going to store shredded people in a thing to unseal later. Although, now that I thought of it, that would probably freak some people out. Unsealing Technique: Flesh Confetti. Yeah… Might be a viable tactic. I'll have to get back to you on that.

And it was about that time that Kei walked in.

"Kuroki-san?" Kei asked.

Yeah. That's. Yeah. Nope. My mouth wasn't working. At least I didn't duck behind the counter? Yet. My chakra though? Yeah, that was doing it's best to retreat in on itself. Kei's stare. That was still the same. Chuckling nervously, I cleaned up the paper in front of me. Wouldn't do to have Kei's stare make it spontaneously catch fire.

"Kuroki-san?" she asked again.

Oh. Right. I'd never actually introduced myself to her. I'd been too busy hiding. Hehe.

"Uh," I said, desperately searching for something to say, lifting an ink stained left hand to wave. "Uh, hi, Lang Lang."

Yeah. That made Kei stare at me funny. But the wheels in her head were turning. I mean, there were only so many people who would know who the Chinatsugumi really were and who had called her Lang Lang, so that narrowed down… I hadn't actually told her who I was.

She figured it out though. "Os?"

"Yeah," I breathed out. And like that the anxiety fluttered away, replaced by happy smiling me. "Looks like I'm not in Kansas anymore." And another nervous chuckle. Heh.

"Must've been some tornado that dropped you here," Kei responded dryly.

I shrugged. "Well, you know, my tea kettle sounded like the siren so I didn't notice it." With all that out of the way, I took a deep breath, set my shoulders, and continued on with the metaphor. "Anyway, I need some help dropping a house on a wicked witch."

And what else was I supposed to say, "we represent the ANBU lab, the ANBU lab, the ANBU lab, we represent the ANBU lab and welcome you to Konoha?" I may have hummed it. And then I vaulted over the counter and squished Kei in the biggest hugs of all hugs to make up for all the time we had missed. I'm pretty sure the word "glomp" applied. And I was still short enough for her to use my head as an armrest. Lovely.

Kei smirked. "So, what took you so long to find me?"

I've been watching you since I realized I was in a timeline you existed but I avoided you because reasons? Yeah, that'd go over swimmingly. So I skipped over that and gave a different excuse, breaking off the hug to scratch the back of my head. "Oh, you know, being a ninja, becoming a chunin, becoming an airbender, joining ANBU, getting a tattoo, getting assigned to be Orochimaru's lab assistant…"

One of these is not like the other, one of these just doesn't belong.

Kei visibly paled at the mention of Orochimaru's name.

Yeah, I had expected that. Even as the famed Tidal Blade, she was still scared shitless of him. And that was a good decade off for her. Right now, she was just a girl who was really good with a sword.

And I was going to be working alongside him for the foreseeable future. Lucky me.

"Soo…" I said, "I obviously need help to not get all disappeared. And someone to give all the dirt I dig up to."

"Orochimaru," Kei said.

I nodded. "Super creepy snake guy. That Orochimaru, in case there was another one running around who also ran human experiments in an ANBU basement."

Error message 404: page not found. Kei.exe has stopped working. So I sighed, crushed her in another hug, and said, "Come on, we should let Vy know about this too. It'll be good to see her again."

"…Again?" Kei asked as I took her hand and started pulling her out of the bookstore.

"I'll be back later," I called out to my parents in the backroom as I left. "Yeah, I uh… knew her back when I was Os." We met because Lang and I wrote your story as a fanfiction and Vy was a fan. Yeah, that'd go over well.

But hey, I was a chunin. Also ANBU. I had resources.

This was like realizing I was "the adult" all over again.

Responsibilities suck.

"Hey, Kei, did you find the person who gave you the book?" Tomoko asked as we entered, her attention on the piano. But once she looked up she kind of stopped playing, and talking.

I ran forward and gave her a huge hug before any of her other reactions could happen. "I missed you two so much, I'm so sorry I took this long to say hi."

Tomoko kind of patted me on the back and waved her hand. "Uh… it's uh, good to see you too?" She had no idea who I was. Tomoko came into existence before Vy and I had become friends.

I released her, ready to tell her I was Beta and then froze. Because that'd mean telling Kei she didn't really exist. And that'd mean I was the one with future knowledge of the plot and I really didn't want to have to carry that.

"Uh, we haven't met yet," I said, fiddling with the loose fabric of my wind-sleeves. "We met after you became Tomoko. Like, an alternate timeline where Vy was still alive." Yeah. That'd work. "But you're still her and you and… yeah."

Tomoko laughed and waved it off. "That's ok. I'm just confused is all. It's nice to meet you…"

"Otoha," I finished. "Kei and I were best friends in that other timeline. You and I were too."


	3. Kuroha-san

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Dedicated to Beta and Lang, because you two give me your company and time even when I feel like I don't deserve it sometimes. It makes working in the lab by myself less lonely, and the quiet of my room more warm. You two do a lot for me, and this fic, I hope, shows that.
> 
> And for readers, this is the start of the fics I started writing to add to the Silent Feathers universe. So there's that.
> 
> The theme of this fic is One Piece's own Hope. The original Japanese version done by Namie Amuro or the shorter English one done by Amanda Lee work just fine. I was listening to it a lot when the idea for this fic came to me, so yeah.
> 
> Of course, trigger warnings for mentions of blood, death, and implied anxiety.
> 
> I'd like to think this fic takes place a few days after the end of Chapter 2 of Silent Feathers. Please enjoy. — Vy

The name came out foreign and almost like sandpaper on my tongue as I tried to say it. "O-Oz?"

" _Os_ , Vy Vy," Kuroki Otoha-san corrected softly, patting my head all the while. "Not 'Oz' like the Wizard of Oz. _Os_."

I never thought I would hear anyone _but_ Hisako and Kei say my old name like that. Say it with a smile on their face, too. And to think I was completely _terrified_ of them a few days ago just from them staring at me. Death glares weren't even death glares anymore, from the looks of it.

"O-Okay, Os," I said, trying not to stumble on the pronunciation. Being used to Japanese for so long was something, and actually saying an English syllable for the first time in a while to _someone else_ was another thing. "And, oh gosh," a nervous laugh left my throat instead of anything coherent, "I'm so sorry for being so bad at this! You knew me in a past life, and yet I can't remember _you_ , Os…it just gets to me."

Despite my inner self-spite, Otoha-san only laughed, sounding like a cute and happy dinosaur with the gesture. "It's okay, Vy Vy, it's okay. I came from another timeline anyways, so don't feel bad about not remembering. Universes are weird." She patted my head again, her airbender-like Chunin sleeves lightly brushing my hair all the while. "I'm just glad I found you and Lang Lang again."

Lang Lang. Kei's old nickname. According to Otoha-san, she and Kei were best friends in that other timeline. Same with…with that other version of Vy. That past version of me.

I thought Vy was dead, hated by all those she left behind. Not…

 **You never thought you would find someone from the past, at least an alternate past, that still cared?** Hisako filled in softly.

For once, I didn't have a proper answer for my Nobody.

I had so many questions when Kei came back to the cafe that day with Otoha-san in tow. So _many_ , especially when Otoha-san hugged me like a lifeline, apologizing about taking so long. Just to say "hi" too. But I couldn't ask then. It wasn't the time, especially when Kei was so happy to see Otoha in the first place.

Now? Kei was out in the family living room with Mama and Papa, brewing tea like always for meetings like this. It was just Otoha-san and I in my room, talking like old friends. I wanted to ask, but my heart beat hard in my chest.

So many what-ifs swirled in my thoughts, festering like darkness.

Hisako only frowned, but said nothing. She already knew.

Still, as if a lightbulb had lit up in the room, Otoha-san's expression turned into one of concern. "Tomoko?"

They knew too. At least, it felt like it.

I didn't even realize tears were already blurring my vision until I could feel my nose start to clog, and I hung my head, trying my best to hide what I could with my hair. I couldn't cry. I didn't deserve that right now. I had to say _something_ before I started blubbering like the weak person I was. Like the girl who saw her parents cry and couldn't do anything about it when she was dying in her own blood.

I couldn't make out Otoha-san's exact face because of the shroud my hair was making, but their voice was calm and collected in spite of the concern. "What is it, Vy Vy?"

That name again.

"Os — no, wait — _Otoha-san_ ," the two names felt like weights in my throat as I choked them out as evenly as I could. The questions were already bubbling up in my mind, but before anything else, I ended up looking into their brown eyes, a sob already holding up in my throat. "Did — Did that Vy, back in your timeline, did she _help_ you? Did she, a-at least, be a good friend to you?"

I didn't even know where that last part came from. But the tears were spilling over now, and one last question echoed in the air in spite of my never saying it.

 _Did that past version of me do something that_ deserved _your caring for me right now?_

Otoha-san's eyebrows furrowed, a conflicted little mumble coming out of their throat in the process. Their hand was still resting on top of my head, and it was still for only a moment before it started patting my hair all over again. Eh? "Vy Vy, you're okay. You're doing great, and, uh." I blinked as Otoha-san proceeded to flap their other free hand in the air, looking panicked. "You _were_ a good friend. Past Me used to say, 'I wouldn't have the capacity for that,' when it came to a lot of things. I never saw it that way for you or Lang Lang."

They then smiled nervously, almost crooked-looking from how awkward it was.

I only gaped.

Otoha-san only rubbed the back of their head with their free hand, still patting my head with the other. "That Vy qualified as 'Friend' to me then, and you're still _her_ inside and you and… _yeah_." They smiled again. "Kei-Kei is still Lang Lang to me. And you're still Vy Vy. You're doing great."

Hisako only chuckled softly, finally smiling. **Wow.**

Otoha's smile was the same. A crooked and dorky grin, just like Kei.

I wasn't expecting the sudden hug. Otoha-san continued to pat my head all the while, even when I was essentially leaning against them, limp. "You're so feeling-y, To-To, it's so pure and adorable. I'm just glad you kept that from the Vy I knew. Don't change."

To _-_ To. Otoha never called me that before.

The tears were already flowing like the Nile River as a shaky smile of my own stretched my cheeks. Maybe it was the relief at being accepted. Or the simple fact that there was someone who really _knew_ the past me and cared for her anyways. It was something along those lines. "Okay… okay…" The sob from before finally let go of my throat as I nodded into Otoha's Chunin vest. "Thank you… Kuroha-san."

Even now? I can't tell you where I got that nickname from. It just spilled out, like that, in the hug. The newly dubbed Kuroha-san didn't mind, only tightening the hug all the while. "You're going to need a _lot_ of therapy, To-To."

I ended up laughing, even with the sniffle cutting into my voice. "I-I'm glad you agree."

"Tomo? Otoha?"

And whoop-de-doo, Kei was back. There was then a clatter of a tea tray being hastily put down on the floor before something was running towards us and someone else was joining the group hug, squeezing us both. Of course it was Kei. And Kei didn't have to say anything. Based on her chakra sensing, she probably already knew too.

It was okay.

I had two friends to help fill in the void that defined Vy and her perceived uselessness. That was enough.


	4. A Birthday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A story originally made by Os/Beta for Lang's birthday back in 2018. — Vy

Otoha perched on the top of a power pole, the solid wood kind they had grown up around in their old life, and in their new one.

Realities shifted, Otoha glitched between them. Some things stayed the same. Some things changed.

Their memories, their existence the only constant.

Otoha perched on top of the wooden power pole, chakra suppressed to background levels, invisible to the radar type sensing of one Keisuke Gekkō as the wooden bombers were in WWII.

They were just fictional characters in a fan-made story of another story of more fictional characters in another fictional world. None of it was real.

Not Otoha. Not their memories. Not their present. Not anything.

So none of it really mattered, right?

Below, in the harsh neon-light of the cafe, Kei laughed. The inside was lit by the warm light of electric lighting, so familiar, but distant filtered through the glass and rain.

Even the words were hard to make out. Kei was surrounded by too many people, too many laughs and hugs and family.

None of it was real. Right?

Otoha closed their eyes and let the light and bubbly chakra sources flare brightly in the senses. Like a candle on a distant hill. Like hearing music through the ceiling.

The homesickness, for a reality that actually mattered, for a world that actually existed, for people who were actually real.

The after-pain, the memory of it, cut at Otoha's chest, but they ignored it. None of it was real, right? They weren't real.

Still.

Everything around them seemed so tangible.

The lights. The rain. The cold. The soft wood of the pole as they dug their nails into it. The chakra flares and voices that escaped through the door as it opened and Kei stepped out into the street.

It was November 20th and none of it was real.

Yet, somehow, Otoha existed. The world around them existed. Kei existed.

For a moment, Otoha's concentration on their chakra faltered, just enough to let it seep out into the air, let it exist like the flash of light from a camera.

They weren't real. None of it mattered, right?

It didn't stop the jolt of adrenaline from shooting through Otoha's body. From reaching for the chakra to do the body flicker jutsu and disappear.

Kei's attention though was quicker. She just looked up, eyes slightly narrowed.

Otoha was just another shinobi. Just another ANBU agent wearing a mask.

Otoha was nobody. They weren't real. None of it mattered.

Kei shrugged it off and turned back to her brother, hand ruffling his hair as she walked down the street.

"Happy birthday, Lang Lang," Otoha whispered before disappearing.

It was November 20th. Otoha didn't exist.


	5. You Matter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because Os's story for Lang (shown in the previous chapter) gave me feels, and that needed to be rectified. This was my original solution.
> 
> The theme for this is Dearly Beloved Reprise, the Main Menu theme for Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix. — Vy

The clatter of the oven door closing.

The scent of melting chocolate chips was strong in the kitchen as I pulled out my tessen fan. Even if it was a weapon meant for boosting my self-defense, it was still a fan.

So, I could use it to help cool down the muffins. The wafting scent could at least attract something.

I was hoping the smell could attract _someone_.

With a small sigh, I glanced out towards the kitchen window. The same view of Konoha greeted me as always, but there was a small tingle in the back of my mind that said otherwise. There was the Hokage Monument, various apartment buildings, and a single tall evergreen tree.

My eyes landed on the tree before squinting at it. The leaves fluttered in the winter wind, exposing dry brown branches, but my gut was saying something.

I brushed a stray strand of black hair behind my ear. Without meaning to, the name left my lips in a soft whisper.

"Kuroha-san?"

Once again, there was silence.

Expected, considering there was no one there. Or maybe my eyes were fooling me.

Kei was easier to find than Otoha. Otoha was an ANBU, but a part of me still wanted to find them.

They deserved something nice too.

Even with the doubt curling in on my gut like a vice, I made sure to walk over to the window, grabbing a cool muffin along the way to hold in a napkin. I still had one hand to pry the window open.

"Kuroha-san, I don't know if you're there, but I just finished baking some chocolate-chip muffins." Despite my common sense screaming at me about sensibility and the environment, I still put the muffin and napkin down on the window sill anyways. I was a silly, cheesy, and naive girl, no matter what, huh. "If you want, come along and take this one. So you can have your share." A nervous chuckle left my lips without me thinking on it. "At least, before Obi and Haya-kun eat them all."

The wind only blew in my face. It was cold, but my green apron was a nice cover. Somewhat.

"And, Kuroha-san?"

There was only more silence.

"You are free to join Kei and I in the Cafe, y'know. You don't have to keep guarding us, or hang out in the trees like a bird all the time." I was rambling, but the words were real. My heart, beating in my chest from the nervousness and all the cheese I was listing off, it was all _real_.

Otoha, to me, was _real._

"Kei and I miss you, Kuroha-san. So, before you say anything, you _are_ real. You do matter." I took a breath while slowly taking a step back to bask in the warm sunlight. Maybe they were listening. Maybe they weren't. I wasn't sure. Still, I said it.

"Otoha. You matter to us. So, please. Come by and visit, okay? Don't lose yourself in the dark. You'll always have another home at Nagareboshi Cafe."

There. I finally said it. Hisako would be proud.

But the scent of chocolate chips was too distracting. It only reminded me that I needed to clean up my workspace and get ready to head out. My Delivery Service couldn't stop with just one day.

Still, I had only _turned_ my back before there was a large gust of wind. It was hard holding back the yelp of surprise at the sudden invasion of _COLD_ , but I was thankfully able to tone it down to a soft squeak. It didn't help that my ponytail started blowing into my face, so it took a while to brush it down.

Once the last tangle had been smoothed out, I swiveled my head only to blink.

The muffin and napkin I had left on the kitchen window sill was gone.

Instead, there was a few crumbs and a note shoved under the glass pane.

My heart skipped a beat as my legs found it in themselves to walk over. Even with my hands shaking, I did my best to pry the note out as gently as I could.

There was only a single sentence.

 _Thank you_.

A smile was already forming on my face as I looked out towards that same evergreen tree. It rustled gently in the wind, a few leaves being carried away.

It was hard to miss the single white feather in the crowd of green.


	6. Creeping Out the Snake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another story by Os, and something fans originally enjoyed on the CYB sideblog. Again, published with their permission. — Vy  
> \----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
> And more Otoha Kuroki. A pretty close follow-up to the original post of Silent Feathers.
> 
> Otoha Kuroki, airbender impersonator, organ donor courier, Orochimaru's lab assistant.
> 
> …reduce reuse recycle probably shouldn't be taken so literally.

_Well,_ I thought to myself as I swiveled on my chair and turned to the only other person in the lab. It felt like it was dimly lit with ominously flickering lights, but that was just the way fluorescent lighting worked, and then wearing sunglasses indoors because of the aforementioned lights.

Right. The other person in the room.

"Orochimaru-sensei?"

Yes. That is what I called creepy snake man. Sensei. _**Sensei.**_

"I think I have an idea for a new jutsu," I said, notebook and pen on my lap. I haven't written anything down, well, for the jutsu, I was busy trying to write things down for other things, like the experiment I was observing.

"What is it, Kuroki-kun?"

"Well," I said, dropping the one leg I had previously folded in the chair down to swap out the other one. "I was thinking about how I am working on making my razor wind strong enough to reliably cut people."

"Mhhm, yessss, I know," Orochimaru said, the habit of drawing out his s's more reminiscent of a lisp than anything creepy at this point.

His attention was firmly on whatever was underneath the microscope. At least it wasn't me.

I had a good brain, a clever mind, one that he occasionally liked to pick, but only intellectually. Not physically.

I was mostly safe from biopsies.

Anyway, I held my hands up, movement out. Grin wide. Voice excited. " _Unsealing Technique: Flesh Confetti_."

That made the snan (snake-man) himself look up at me. His face an unreadable stare.

In order to get through the whole panic-oh-shit crisis that is mother-fucking Orochi-fucking-maru, I had kind of just convinced myself he was the super Edgelord kind of person who does things specifically because he likes getting the reaction (of being creeped-the-fuck-out) out of people.

Well.

"Kuroki-kun."

I think I found the one thing that was slightly off-putting to Orochi-king-of-creep-maru.

It just took the concept of flesh confetti to do it. The concept of using a body not for the pursuit of knowledge or new jutsu but just to creep people the fuck out.

"Psychological warfare tactic," I said, pointing my finger at him as I did, then looked back to my notes. "Potential way to spread pathogens too." It had worked in the Middle Ages. Catapult dead carcasses over the castle wall. Stick bodies into wells and contaminate the drinking water.

If I wanted him to think I wasn't going to turn on him or rat him out, that I was an ally, well, I needed to make him think I was just as obsessed with his goals as he was. And just as morally bankrupt.

Breaking about every Geneva Convention and Rule of War from my old life should do the trick.

Shrugging, I turned back to my work, or rather, I turned back to observing Orochimaru's work. And writing down notes for the soon to be "results" of my studies regarding the mental state of shinobi coming back from the front lines.

 _Sigh_. At least with Tsunade in town and Rin being well, Rin, if it got in their hands, things could look up for the state of Mental Healthcare in Konoha.

Maybe I should take some shifts at the hospital? Orochimaru, Edgelord Extraordinaire, had been wanting to get access to some of those bodies. And not just the corpses. But maybe I could run some interference there. After all, I was good with paperwork. Keeping him from disappearing too many people would be a good thing, and making sure there was a paper trail for the ones he did.

Well, that was one way to make sure he eventually got caught.

Oh man, I was starting to feel a little like Icarus, hoping I didn't fly too close and get burned.


	7. How to Kill a Slimy Snake Man

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because Osie gave me permission and the idea was too tempting to really resist. And they were nice enough to help me edit, so woo! More writing to share!
> 
> Haven't said them before, but disclaimers as always: I don't own anything or anyone except Tomoko. Kei belongs to Lang, and Otoha to Os/Beta.
> 
> The theme for this story is My Soul Your Beats, specifically the fanmade Duet Remix done originally by Lia and LisA for Angel Beats. I found that the remix really fits the world that is Silent Feathers, combining the piano that Tomoko is known for with the rock beats Lang and Osie seem to use a lot for CYB. I wanted to use this song for so long, I'm just glad Silent Feathers has given me an excuse to do so now!
> 
> Please enjoy! — Vy

Secrets always seemed to have this unspoken code of conduct. Vy's past family took it to heart enough to where it was still ingrained in me as Tomoko.

(1) Never force someone into saying it. (2) No one was _entitled_ to hearing another person's secret. (3) If a secret is shared with you, you're not supposed to share it with others because it breaks the whole idea of a "secret" in the first place. And (4), always be patient and understanding when someone wanted to share a secret. Interrupting was literally _the_ nail in the coffin of any talk like that.

Even now, that didn't change.

Kuroha-san was particularly antsy when the prospect of secret sharing came up in the air, and even if I didn't know them as well as Kei, that didn't mean they were any less deserving of respect.

Kuroha-san was just as much of a reincarnation buddy and friend as Kei. The least I could do was hear them out. The more help we could get before the world went to shit via Aliens and bullshitty snakes, the better.

I wasn't expecting Otoha to blurt it out when the tension became a bit too much.

…Well, technically, they _glossed_ over it, but the words were way too suspicious to be ignored. Even if they weren't directed at me.

Kei was with us too, so that helped.

Maybe.

It all started with Kei prompting the question behind her cup of tea. "So, any updates on snake-man?"

Otoha flapped their right hand in the air while swaying back and forth on their seat cushion. "Oh you know, same-old same-old. The snan's still proving why we need a code of ethics." She fell silent for a second, then brightly added, "Oh, fun news, I told him about _Unsealing Technique: Flesh Confetti_ and actually creeped him out!"

Kei visibly paused her thinking. "Flesh Confetti?"

 ** _Snan?_ What?** Hisako loudly expressed in my place with a raised eyebrow. **Is that supposed to mean something? And what the hell is _Flesh Confetti?_**

For some reason, I could only imagine that one filler arc where Hinata came up with the _Protective Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms Technique_ for _literally_ slicing up summon bees, and I shivered. Bug corpses were already not a pretty image to remember.

Otoha's next comment didn't help because Kei apparently set off an explanation. Around their strawberry mochi, because the sweets didn't even deter them from talking. Or flapping their hands. "I store the fleshy bits and gore left over from my Razor Wind Jutsu and then unseal it over my unsuspecting enemies when I need a quick distraction! So, Flesh Confetti!"

**Never mind. Ew.**

My stomach sank as the saliva quickly dried up in my mouth. "How…effective." The words were almost guttural and far too deep to really be from my voice if not for the fact I felt my lips move.

I did not need that image in my head.

Otoha only grabbed another strawberry mochi from the plate sitting in the center of the impromptu group huddle that we were having on my room floor. They apparently didn't mind? "That's the same reaction Orochimaru had."

Now bile was climbing up my throat. Um. _What._

Rewind. Did Kuroha-san say, "Orochimaru"?

My mental voice came out tiny and barely audible in the massive mental library. _Hisako?_

 **…They said, "Orochimaru."** My Nobody paced back and forth, shaking her head vigorously. Her long brown hair was flying everywhere, but she didn't even seem to care, continuing to pace with a fish face. **They. Freaking. Said. OROCHIMARU.** Hisako repeated incredulously.

What. _What._

Kei didn't seem all that fazed, judging by the raised eyebrow in Otoha's direction, but my stomach was already starting to grow pumpkin patches for butterflies to start flocking around. Ugh.

The conversation starter of "snake-man" didn't make me feel any better. I probably shouldn't have been surprised that my voice turned high-pitched to express that uncertainty. "Um, Kuroha-san? Kei?"

Both ninja turned to me. "Yeah, Tomo-chan?"

 **They were in unison. Holy heck, they were in _freaking unison_.** Hisako clapped almost immediately, but I outwardly blinked because that kind of thing rarely happened outside of well-established ninja teams. Then again, I only really talked with Team Minato and Gai, so there was that…

 **That was both cool and kinda _whoa_.** Hisako finished for me.

_Yeah…_

Kei and Otoha exchanged a look before turning back to meet my stare. "Uh, Tomo-chan," Kei started slowly, putting down her cup of tea, "are you okay?"

"Trying?" I squeaked. The stomach butterflies were starting to mate now, frig. I did _not_ want to throw up right now! "To be okay. I think. Um. Uh."

Hisako had taken a fetal position in the library while pulling out a single cue card from around the corner. She was broken too. Darn it. The cue card barely helped with its single sentence of, **Just say it.**

This was going to be a bombshell.

I forced as much oxygen into my lungs with a deep breath, instinctively closed my eyes to save myself the embarrassment that was meeting my friends' stares, before blurting it out. _"WH-WHAT DID YOU MEAN BY OROCHIMARUUU~?!"_

A long pause followed.

My heart was still beating against my ribs, the stomach butterflies were having a field day, and for some reason, no one was talking.

 **Okay. I know we're not ones to talk, _but._** Hisako raised her head from her knees to glare out at the world. Despite her limited vantage point. **Someone. TALK. Silence. Sucks.**

I slowly opened my eyes.

Otoha had apparently turned white, brown eyes wide as their jaw clenched. Kei was equally perplexed, glancing between Otoha and I before shrugging helplessly. "We forgot to tell Tomo-chan, didn't we, Os?"

"Eh…yeeah." Otoha said slowly. I was not expecting them to chuckle nervously when turning back to meet my stare, and I couldn't help but feel like I had done something wrong when hearing it. "Hehehe…yeah, Tomo-chan, I work for creepy snake guy."

It was such a simple sentence, but it was enough to set something off.

Hisako, naturally, blew up first. Because of course. Inner darkness, people. **THE FUCK?!**

Outwardly, I held my tongue, took another really deep breath, and clenched my hands. Kuroha-san was nervous. They sounded guilty. I couldn't panic. "…Creepy snake guy?"

"Creepy snake guy," Otoha repeated, laughing again. It was still a nervous laugh. "Hehehe…oops?"

**"OOPS" DOES NOT HELP ANYTHING.**

I took another breath. Hisako wasn't helping either, but yelling something wouldn't help the sudden weight residing in my heart. There were so many questions flooding my head, but what left my mouth instead was a quiet, "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Otoha inclined their head, and the confusion was obvious in their voice. "Oh yeah, Tomo-chan, I'm mostly safe. I mean, I'm taking shifts at the hospital and now I've got you. He can't disappear me without questions. And being his lab assistant means I'm right in the spot to take him down."

"Th-That's not what I meant!" I didn't even mean to yell, especially considering the fact that Otoha and Kei both had _flinched_ , but _something_ had snapped in me, and I was left helpless in riding whatever emotional wave it had. "You're…you're…" I hung my head. "You're…"

 _You're putting yourself at risk. And I have to hear about this_ just after _we got to meet up? You're risking your life?_

 _You're risking_ dying _again?_

Hisako was already getting up from her previous fetal position in the library to reach out towards me, a solemn look on her face. She already knew. She already saw where Vy's old memories ended. There was too much red. **Tomoko-chan—**

Kei was faster than my Nobody in scooting over to sit near me, a hand already resting over both of mine. I didn't even realize my hands were starting to shake until she was steadying them with hers. "Tomo. It's okay."

Snot was starting to come up to my nose as the doubt took a seat in my heart to fester like the darkness it was. Goddammit. The memory had to influence me again. "I-Is it? It's _fucking Orochimaru_ , Kei. An Orochimaru who got away with abusing his only son in Canon. An Orochimaru who got away with countless murders and _child abuse_ and Hokage Naruto _didn't_ put him to justice. Hokage Naruto didn't do _anything_ to him." The urge to cry was strong, but I didn't want to break down now. The emotion wave couldn't take me yet. It couldn't. "A-And, Kuroha-san…" My voice stalled, no thanks to the sudden lump surfacing in my throat. "I just _met_ you again, and hearing that—"

My breath was already starting to shake, but I choked out because they needed to hear it. From me. "I-I… _I don't want you to die."_

There was only a single second of silence before I could pick up the sound of someone scooting over. A hand landed on top of my head, and I looked up only to see Otoha smile. "Eh, no worries, not even death can kill me." I could vaguely register that same hand start to pat my hair, and even when the tears were starting to bubble up in the corners of my vision, Otoha was still smiling. "I'll be fine, Tomo-chan."

When glancing to the side, Kei only shot me a small smile, nodding her head encouragingly. It was obvious she shared the same sentiment.

 **Trust them, Tomoko-chan.** Hisako was already hugging me. **Trust them.**

I could've taken it. I could've. Instead, what left my mouth was a tiny and squeaky, "Really? How—How do you know that?"

I could've taken it if not for the fact that _Ty_ said the same thing, and their influence _still_ hurt. If not for the fact that I — that _Vy_ — tried to help him, and he didn't accept it. That he still called me out for being too naive. Too ignorant.

Otoha frowned, letting out what sounded like the hum of a troubled dinosaur as their hand stilled on my head. I wasn't expecting the frown to suddenly turn upside down. "Hey," their hand started patting my head again, smoothing some stray hairs back into place. "I got you and Kei, right? We can handle anything."

My heart skipped a beat. When I glanced to the side, Kei only smirked, nodding again. "We're all together, Tomo-chan. We're not alone. We can do this."

Hisako only closed her eyes, stepping back to look up at the library ceiling with a resigned smile. Water was already pooling at her sneakers. **Three, two, one…**

The first tear slid down my cheek. "K-Keiiiiii, Otohaaaaaa…" my voice cracked. "You—you two are such—" A smile was creeping up my face as I reached up to wipe at my eyes, the beginnings of a laugh echoing in my throat. "You two are such cheesy _dorks._ And you're the _ninja…"_ The first sniffle finally slipped through.

These two were the _ninja,_ and they weren't pessimistic.

They were actually _optimistic._ They actually believed in something better.

They weren't Ty.

They felt like Leo and Josh. The same warmth, the same confident reassurances.

They were my friends.

I could finally take that.

Even with the water starting to flood the library like a sudden rainfall, Hisako only shrugged with a fond smile. **We're lucky, huh, Tomoko-chan?**

I didn't even have to look up to know Kei and Otoha were exchanging another look before I could only see past their shoulders. I somehow activated the Quick-Play Magic Card: Sudden Group Hug. Aaaaaah. "You don't have to worry, Tomo-chan." Kei's voice echoed above my head, and the tight grip on my shoulders was enough for me to know that those hands were hers. "We can do this. There's no need to cry."

"I-I can't _help_ but cry, okay?" was the protesting squeak, but I couldn't deny I was hugging them both back just as hard if not more so. "You two are my reincarnation buddies, and I want to see the future with you! A-And just when I worry, you two say something like that, and now I feel so happy, even though I know I should be worried about _the Creepy Snake Guy…!"_

Hisako bit back a barking laugh. **_Avatar_ reference a no go?**

Then the lightbulb went off. "O-Or should I just call him, 'Creepy Spooky Slimy Snake Guy'?"

Otoha let out a soft and happy crow-noise as the hand on my head started to brush through my hair. If I didn't know any better, it resembled a triumphant laugh from how sudden it was. "Tomo-chan, _I'm_ the lab assistant, let me worry about the Creepy Snake Guy. That's easier."

Even without the space to look up, I could already tell Kei was rolling her eyes. "Creepy Snake Guy. That works." There was a small pause before the arm around my shoulders squeezed softly. "I think we should leave the music to Tomo-chan and not the names, huh, Os?"

"Hey…"

Otoha laughed again. "Vy Vy's better at music."

Now the tears were fading for a pout. Gosh darn it, these ninja. I could never be depressed around them, huh. "So," I tried not to grumble, "does that mean I have to be the Nurse Joy of the group?"

Another small pause, then Kei was chuckling above my head. "I think Kairi is better."

Otoha squawked like a pterodactyl. "Why not Al? Or Winry?"

Kei's hand on my shoulder loosened. "That works too."

 **Did they just start bringing on more references?** The water in the library was already starting to reach Hisako's knees, but she apparently didn't seem to care judging by the proud grin on her face. _ **Yes.**_

I probably shouldn't have been surprised by my Nobody pulling out a vacuum of all things. **Time to clean up!** was the loud bellow. **Water, be nice, and they'll be no blood spilled.**

It was best to ignore her pushing the power button.

Instead, I found myself laughing before sitting up in the group hug and squeezing Kei and Otoha both.

"Tomo?"

Another squawk. "Tomo-chan?"

"Just, thank you," I said honestly, holding back happy tears. "Thank you both, so much. For believing. And for—" the name was like sawdust on my tongue, but I still said it anyways because I needed to let go. I needed to vent at one point. "For not being Ty."

Kei exhaled shakily in what sounded like clear understanding, just as Otoha's hand on my head stilled, another dinosaur trill soft in the air. "No problem, Tomo-chan," they added quietly, hand patting my head all over again. "No problem."

I couldn't help the last small happy tear. I didn't deserve these two, yet they were here. They were here, in the Group Hug, and my heart and mind were finally in agreement about something.

They weren't going to leave.

The tear fell quickly to the floor tile as the Group Hug didn't let up for a while.

Snake Man was going to see a painful death, and at this point, I wouldn't be surprised if these two ninja were the ones I would have to thank for it.

I had more than enough to thank them for already.


	8. Hiding in the Dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally written from sleepiness, self-frustration, and leftover spite towards those people who called for Tomoko to "grow the fuck up" or insulted her with the "Mary Sue" title for the umpteenth time on CP reviews.
> 
> And for uninitiated readers, Kei and Otoha aren't the only people who have Issues.
> 
> Because no one can truly "grow out" of trauma. They just learn how to better cope with it.
> 
> The theme is SLS Music's piano and violin rendition of There is a Reason from No Game No Life Zero. Because it shows the hope and despair Tomoko both shares and hides. Be forewarned, this is depressing.
> 
> No lies, I did start to tear up when writing this.

It was always the same question. The same words, the same doubt, the same darkness, that would always resurface in my heart whenever it felt like Kei and Otoha weren't looking.

" _Why do you still want me around?"_

Hisako knew of it, of course. She was always doing her best to push it out, but there were times where even she got tired.

I was a freaking mess.

There was no denying that civilians and ninja lived on two different sides of the same coin. Society in Konoha, or hell, any other ninja village made it obvious with how civilians could become part of the Narrative Casualty when it came to any Plot-related bullshit. Or just war. How civilians could be ignored by the higher-ups, or be seen as cannon fodder to not even mourn in large funerals. Who would remember the civilians in Canon _Naruto_? Naruto himself? He'd only know Mr. Teuichi and his daughter, Ayame in Canon. Or Tazuna and his grandson, Inari. No one else.

The simple fact that ninjas still chose to co-exist with civilians was something. Even if civilians were more likely to die.

I was lucky. To not be one of the usual civilians. To have a group of friends and family who had far more influence in the world than I could ever get, who wanted to stay. To have a group of friends who would drop anything they had in their hands, just to check up on me.

I appreciated it, but that same question always popped up when they were away, or focused on a mission.

My heart still asked, " _Why_." In the dark, where no one could see.

" _Why do you still stay? Why do you still care?"_

Memories were still memories. Something ninja could easily probe, and kill me for. I was still a civilian. I wasn't anything special, anything worthwhile at the moment. If the Hokage found out any kind of treachery, if he wanted to, he could make me disappear, and leave it so that I never existed.

Yet Kei and Otoha still stayed. Team Minato still stayed. They always found me, no matter what.

They liked me, and my heart still wondered _why_.

Kei with her wry smiles and small gleam in her black eyes when taking on a kenjutsu stance. "Any thoughts on this, Tomo-chan?"

Otoha, with her tessen fans in hand and happy dinosaur trills leaving her throat. "To-To, how do you feel about this?"

I didn't deserve them. I really didn't.

I was still a civilian, someone the ninja could discard if they found me as "useless."

I chose this path, there was no denying that. I still wanted to hold onto the ideals Leo and Josh left me, the love my past family had for me, to keep living. At least, for them.

But every time Kei and Otoha indulged me on self-defense training, on _their_ free time, just to be together, the same doubts popped up.

They were best friends in that other timeline. Vy was too, with them, but how much?

How much did _she_ do for them?

She could've hurt them. Ty lashed out enough. I deserved it. Even when I had to cut him out, it still felt like I deserved it because I didn't help him enough.

" _Why do you still want to be with the girl who broke her entire past family?"_

" _Why do you want to be with the girl who can't forget the sight of her own blood?"_

" _Why do you want to be with the girl who can't even hug you without doubting you?"_

I knew I could never say those questions aloud. They would worry.

Kei and Otoha already had enough on their plates. Team Minato and Creepy Snake Guy being a few to name.

In the Narutoverse, I was almost a Nobody in the world. They didn't have to care.

Every time they came around and said otherwise, I wanted to ask.

" _Why do you still care for me?"_

But every single time they smiled in my direction and came around for a Group Hug, the words died in my throat without so much as a squeak. I was such a coward. I was just too selfish.

I wanted to believe I had a place with them.

Even when my heart kept calling me a selfish twat, undeserving of anything. Too worthless to make a goddamn difference.

There was a part of me that hoped Kei and Otoha knew. But I still hid it. There was no point in sharing the problems of a civilian girl who could one day be killed by Snake Man, if he ever found me.

There was no point.

I was still a child, clinging to what was familiar.

These days, I just don't know if anyone can save me. I can't even save myself.

My thoughts were still the same.

" _I don't deserve to vent, because it hampers on their happiness. They deserve to be happy. Not me."_


	9. Power of Friendship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heavily inspired by the many times I was down, only for Osie and Lang to find me and pick me up to keep going all over again. And this is a direct sequel to the previous chapter in terms of chronological order, because Otoha and Kei can't let a certain pianist wander for oh so long. Everyone deserves some light in their lives.
> 
> The themes for this little story consist of three recommendations from Lang and one last pick from me: (1) Light Up the Dark by Taylor Henderson, (2) Love Story Meets Viva La Vida from the Piano Guys, (3) the piano cover of Shut Up and Dance + Best Song Ever from the Rogers Family, and (4) Stars and Flowers (Piano Version) from Yuki Yuna is a Hero. To help with all the Friendship Feels. ;D
> 
> Dedicated to Beta and Lang. Because we're the Writer's Guild, and I hope fluff helps with the long night. You two have done a lot for me. It's best to show how much, because I can't be more thankful. — Vy

They shouldn't have noticed. They weren't supposed to have noticed.

For these past few years, I tried to keep my chakra on the down-low. Kei and Otoha were both sensors, and if I wanted to not trouble them with my emotions, it meant sealing off what I could. Boarding up — _bottling up_ as much as I could.

It felt cowardly, almost hypocritical to give white lies of, "I'm okay" in the face of the Narutoverse. The fact that I was hiding _away_ from my reincarnation buddies in spite of my own wish to be with them forever. In spite of my outer exterior encouraging emotional honesty when it came to personal problems.

Still, it didn't change the fact that the darkness in my heart was _my_ burden. I had to handle it. It was my weight, not theirs. Kei and Otoha had enough on their plates. They deserved more than worried tears about the future, more than my useless ideas.

They didn't need to worry about me.

Yet, somehow, I was open enough to be caught off guard again.

"Tomo?"

Kei's call of my nickname didn't sound any different from usual, and even with the electric mixer on, I could still flip the switch off to turn around and face her. The cake batter could wait. It sounded like she needed something. "Mm? What is it, Kei?"

I couldn't lie to her face like that. It was probably foolish to even try, because her hands were shoved in her jacket pockets and a wry, dry smile was on her face. "Think we can talk? Just for a bit. Otoha's already in the other room."

My heart clenched on itself.

Hisako was already giving the mental push. **C'mon, Tomoko-chan. Don't freeze.**

I sucked in a breath to steady myself. My chakra was still rolling around in my gut, adding to the butterflies that started popping up at Kei's question, and I had to force it down. It wasn't the time to be the deer in headlights. I wasn't that little girl. I wasn't.

_This isn't the old world, this isn't the old world, this isn't the old world._

I just had to keep repeating that mantra. Outwardly, I put on a small smile in return. "Sure? But…" the words felt somewhat foreign on my tongue as the first bit of honesty was already coming out. "What for, Kei?"

In the time it had taken for me to reply, Kei had only turned around to face the hallway. A single second was all it took for her to swivel her head back to meet my stare, something dark in her eyes. "Just to talk, Tomo," she offered her hand to me. "Just to talk."

My heart clenched again. I glanced between her open hand and the floor. "…This won't trouble you?"

I didn't even know where the question came from. But by the time it was already out in the air, I couldn't stop myself.

Kei's eyes widened a small margin, almost in surprise before softening. There was a spark in the black eyes replacing the dark from before, a spark that I could at least pinpoint as, "agreement" and "oh, you." Fond exasperation, I think. It reminded me of — of _Vy's_ Dad. The same soft care. "Nah, it's no real trouble," she still gestured with her open hand towards me. It was hard to miss the small smile on Kei's face. "Let's just go to your room, Tomo. Trust me."

For the last signal, Hisako grinned softly.

Even with my blood starting to race in my veins from all the butterflies, my hand was already resting in hers before I could consider any other options.

* * *

The walk to my room wasn't that long. But Otoha was indeed there, letting out a soft dinosaur roar of recognition as soon as Kei opened the door. I didn't know if the roar was of happiness or of some other emotion, but Kuroha-san seemed happy enough. "Glad to see you, Kei-Kei, To-To."

That nickname still had some getting used to, because the heat flooding my cheeks was nothing to laugh at. "H-Hi again, Kuroha-san."

Even without raising my head, I knew Kei was smiling. The _dork_. "C'mon, Tomo, less blushing, more talking." Then my hand was being _tugged_ and I could barely hold back from flailing as she guided me over to the floor where Kuroha-san was sitting. It didn't take long for her to neatly plop down on a nearby seat cushion, and with her continued grip on my hand, I had no choice but to follow her example in doing the same. Because apparently the ninja had time to find the seat cushions in my closet and take them out for us to make a small group huddle.

"Um," I said slowly, because this was not expected in the slightest. "What's going on…?"

Otoha swiveled her head in Kei's direction before slowly flapping a hand in the air. "Me first or you, Lang-Lang?" The small nervous laugh was unmistakable.

I was missing something. Um.

Kei sighed, and it was only then that I realized she had let go of my hand. "Might as well." The tone had turned almost sad somehow, and I probably should have expected the next statement. Especially considering the cold air of my room somehow. My thoughts at the time chalked it up to the open window, but still.

It didn't stop my heart from freezing once Kei turned to me with a raised eyebrow. "Tomo, I'm going to be level with you. Please cut the crap."

"Eh?" was my rather intelligent answer. Because really, Kei had _never_ taken that tone of voice before. Even in the few times I had seen her train with Team Minato in those sessions so long ago, she never got that short and to the point in front of me. This was new, and I didn't know what to make of it. What left me instead of any other follow-up comment was, "What do you mean?"

Kei sighed again, and it was obvious something was weighing on her mind before Otoha interrupted with a raised hand. "To-To, you've been hiding your chakra away from us for the past few weeks, and we're not in Kansas anymore. There's no Wicked Witch to drop a house on, so what made you lose sight of the Yellow Brick Road?"

Hisako held back a knowing snort.

I was already starting to feel my hands shake. "K-Kuroha…san…"

"For better terms," Kei added, tone going back to that same quiet, "You've been hiding something, Tomo. And we're worried. What's going on?"

Otoha's jaw clenched before they added a soft and troubled mumble of agreement.

The urge to cry was starting to show up again. For the goddamn umpteenth time.

Of course they would notice. Of course they would.

How could I even think of hiding from my _reincarnation buddies_? My bestest friends in this whole wide world?

But after losing Leo and Josh…

Hisako was already hugging me. She knew. Of course she knew.

I took in the deepest breath I could muster, letting go of my chakra by just a little bit. "…Are you sure? H-Hearing me out, I mean? I'm…I'm not the best right now, and, and," the crying urge was already starting to show in my _voice_ , frig, "I'm kinda…yeah. Holding together. Slowly. B-Barely. Yeah." A lump was already surfacing in my throat. "I'm—I'm trying not to cry. Again."

"Tomoko," And now Kei was using my _full_ name, what— "It's okay. You're with us. There's a privacy seal on your door and Otoha and I are the only ones here." A hand was resting over both of mine again, and it was obvious who it was. The tears were blurring my vision, but I could still make out the familiar calluses that was my first friend. "I said it before. Whatever you have to say, I'll listen. Even now." The smile in her voice was obvious as she squeezed my hands. "I know I still want to hear it."

Another hand was quickly covering Kei's, making a huddle on top of both of mine, and I tried not to jump. "Me too," Otoha added just as quietly. I could even hear the beginnings of a comforting dinosaur trill in her voice with the gesture. "I want to hear it too, Vy-Vy."

I didn't deserve these two. I didn't.

The first drops were already falling onto the pile of hands. "I-I don't deserve you two. I just—I just _don't_." I wanted to smile, but the tears made it hard to even _muster_ one as it kept cracking on my cheeks, the snot already starting to clog my nose. "I-I… I hid _because_ I'm not worth it. Because I keep _doubting_ you two. Because I'm afraid."

Kei exhaled shakily, her voice coming out calm and controlled. "Of us? Or what?" She paused before the realization set in. "Of being alone? Of us leaving?"

Of course she would remember that talk about Ty.

The tears kept falling down on our combined hands as I could only nod jerkily.

"To-To…" Otoha's other hand was already patting my head, and it took all I had to not lurch away from the gesture. "Dorothy didn't leave you, and I'm not going to leave either. Although," they paused, glancing at Kei once from what I could see through my bangs before continuing with a confused, "what would that make Kei? The Cowardly Lion? Because I'm pretty sure Kakashi's the Scarecrow."

Kei blinked before barking down a sudden laugh. "Os, I don't think I'm lion-material."

There was confusion running through my blood this time, but there was still one thing left to address. I tried not to choke. "…You knew?"

Kei and Otoha both were now turning back to stare at me again. A single second was all it took for Otoha's voice to turn soft, their other hand patting my head all over again as a small dinosaur hum left their lips. "Yeah. Your chakra said everything, To-To. And you wear your heart on your sleeve. It was obvious. And, and we're not going to leave you."

The tears were falling faster now. Frig. "I-I think Kei's the Tin Man with her swords…" But the sniffles were hard to ignore too. My chakra was flooding me like a tsunami because my limits were hit.

Hisako was still silent, hugging me.

They _knew_. Despite my lies, despite my hiding, they _knew_. They freakin' _knew_. The questions were already leaving me faster than I could think on them, between the starts of sobs. "A-And you're—you're not going to leave? Even though I'm the girl who can't forget the sight of her own blood? Even though I'm the girl who nearly _broke_ her entire past family apart because she didn't know her brother was doing something wrong? Even though—" my jaw clenched at the exact same time my heart did. "Even though I'm a useless civilian who's worth _jack shit_ …"

Otoha was already letting out a loud and troubled pterodactyl wail as Kei reached out with her other, free hand to squeeze my shoulder.

Frig, I was already crying, and I couldn't even meet their eyes. I couldn't even stop myself from asking the last question. "Why…why do you two still _care_?"

" _Why do you stay?"_ was left unsaid because I couldn't find the courage to even muster that anymore. The words were already out there, and I was going to reap whatever repercussions they had.

I wasn't expecting the headbutt. It was sudden, quick, and _painful_ , but I was reeling back, and then I could only see resolute and pained black eyes. "Tomo." Kei's voice had turned hard, and it only vaguely registered that she was _angry_. What? " _Tomo_. You're seriously asking that? Is it so hard to understand?" She was resting her head against mine, eyes closing slowly in time with her breathing. Even with the tears, I could still make out hers and Otoha's hands still holding mine down from shuddering. "I've never seen you do a single thing bad enough to _deserve_ how much weight you keep piling on your shoulders. You're not _useless_ , and you're better than that."

Those black eyes were opening to stare at me again, and I took in a shaky breath. "You're my _friend_ , Tomo. I don't care about what your past says. Or the dark. I just care about _you_."

My heart froze.

Hisako was smiling. **There it is.**

My reply was choked down to a small, "Eh?"

Kei was pulling away to give more distance, and then I could see the brown hair that was Kuroha-san. When— "To-To…" they mumbled a small, mournful noise before reaching with both hands past Kei's fingers to touch mine. "To-To, you didn't exclude me and forget me. You put up with my shit. You made me _remember_ that I'm more than a faceless ninja." A crooked grin was on their face, and I could barely find myself breathing. "You helped me remember that I'm _real_. So, I'm not leaving you. Lang-Lang and I, _we_ aren't leaving you." They squeezed what they could of my fingers through the hand-pile. "We're in this together, Vy-Vy. So, don't be scared."

The waterworks were officially on now.

I couldn't even stop the sobs leaving my lips as my nose started to feel runny. "You two…ohmifreakinggod, you _two_ ninja…"

Kei was smiling wryly as the tears kept falling down on our hand pile. "What Os said, all the way." She was already reaching over with her not-wet hand to offer the start of what was looking like a big Group Hug. "C'mon, Tomo. You're stuck with us for life, so quit hiding."

"K-Keiiiiiiiiii…Otohaaaaaaaa…!" was the culmination of the high-pitched, choked noises that left my throat, and once Otoha was adding in a small and cute dinosaur hum, I finally lost it.

Otoha and Kei didn't even seem to mind that I literally _threw_ myself at them.

My heart wasn't cold, the room felt warm, and my friends were hugging as hard as they could back. Even if my back was a bit sore from crouching for so long, even if my throat was becoming hoarse from all the crying, it didn't change the fact that they were here.

Kei and Otoha — Lang and Os. They were here.

We were definitely Best Friends.

I could be with them. It was okay.

No doubts at all.

The darkness could finally be laid to rest.

* * *

"You doooooooorks…! H-How can you live saying _that_ cheesy stuff~~?!"

"This coming from the girl who can't go without a hug every day?"

"That's what makes her To-To!"

"Heyyyyyyyyy…!"

"Aw, Tomo, it's okay. I don't think we meant for you to cry."

"Th-These are _happy_ tears, you doofus! You complete, ridiculous, insufferable, lovable, _doofus!_ "

"One of those is not like the other, one of those just doesn't belong~!"

"Heh. That's how it should be."

"You doooooooooorks…!"

"Love you too, dork."

"We're dorks for life!"


	10. Miyako-bachan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The theme for this thing is Egao to Kimi ni, or, when translated, "To the Smiling You," by Suzuko Mimori. The original version for Washio Sumi is A Hero or the shorter piano version done by YouTuber Hiumann works just fine. Because it's such a nice song, and I couldn't resist. -/- Even with the Yuki Yuna franchise being flawed like all heck with the ableism present in its magical girl system, the music and voice acting is still great.
> 
> Anywho.
> 
> The other song I'm going to mention here is actually My Neighbor Totoro's Path of the Wind by Joe Hisashi, since Lang and Os both apparently see it as Tomoko's theme. I'm surprised I totally missed that, but it works with all the classical orchestra cues! Hehe. ^_^
> 
> Copyright stuff. I don't own anyone except Tomoko. Kei and Miyako belongs to Lang and Otoha to Beta.
> 
> Canonically takes place after Chapter 7, and this chapter has since been revised to match Os's version, found in the next chapter. — Vy

"To-To, you feeling better?"

Kuroha-san again. I was lucky. I really was. I wanted to hug them so much, if not for the fact that we had just finished what could be the biggest Group Hug out of all Group Hugs, and it was all out of thoughts of killing a Resident Snake.

What had the world come to. What had it come to, indeed.

Leo and Josh would probably be proud. I think.

Hisako simply shrugged when I leveled a questioning mental stare in her direction. **Ninja world isn't the best world, dear. Just take what you can get.**

… _Fair enough_.

I wiped at my eyes as much as I could, trying not to sniffle. Crying for the entire day was not on my agenda. "Y-Yeah, better. A bit shaken, but better. You?"

A soft and reassuring dinosaur roar was my answer.

A giggle left my lips. How cute. At this point, I couldn't think of a time where I would get _tired_ of hearing replies like that. It was better than the ninja silence, so woo! "Of course, Osie. Of course."

I didn't have to look up to know Kei was smirking. "'Osie,' huh?" Kei said softly, the smirk already seeping into her voice. "That was fast. Though, Tomo?"

"Hm?"

"Don't you think you're forgetting something?"

I wiped at my face a bit more with my hands to get rid of any remaining tear trails before trying to keep a level frown in Kei's direction, because the warm fuzzies had already gone somewhere. "Forgetting _what?_ We just talked about our latest Conspiracy Plot of _killing_ a Creepy Slimy Snake Man, Kei, what else is there for us to do?"

"It's not really something for _us_ , but more _you_ , Tomo," Kei said with a small shrug of her shoulders, pointing at the hanging clock behind her with a thumb. "The Snake Man was way too distracting."

"Um," I said instead to fill in the silence, and over Otoha's confused mumbling, I glanced at the clock. The seconds-hand was moving as usual, so what was the problem—

Wait.

Hisako nearly fell out of her chair and onto the library floor. **You have training today, don't you, Tomoko-chan? And it's…**

"It's after one in the afternoon…" was the slow response leaving my lips, and the hot coals were already flooding my face as butterflies started emerging from unseen chrysali in my stomach. "OH GOD!"

**MIYAKO'S GOING TO KILL US!**

It didn't take long for the adrenaline to start coming in, and wearing a skirt was _definitely_ not in this afternoon's schedule. My cheeks were burning, but I needed to change, like _now_. Combat skirts were not a thing in Narutoverse, and I was _not_ going to start making it a thing! Even if it was tempting! Mama would _kill_ me first, all for ruining good clothes. "K-Kei, why didn't you say it sooner?!"

Her only response was a quiet and perplexed, "I meant to say it earlier?" Emphasized with a raised pointer finger.

"THAT DOESN'T HELP!"

"To-To?" Otoha said in a strained voice. I couldn't blame them for the reaction, since I ended up jumping to my feet before running over to my closet, narrowly avoiding accidentally _kicking_ them. It took all I had to not slam the door open, instead putting in the least amount of force my emotions could allow while glancing over every single drawer and hanger I had in the area, because skirts _could not become a thing in kenjutsu practice_. Practice that I _forgot_ about entirely. Frig.

Aaaand without even being a sensor or looking behind me, my gut already knew that Kuroha-san was totally caught off guard. _Aaaaaah_ , I needed to be better about this shit. Scheduling and sleeping late was one thing for Vy, a new life should've meant improvement! But nooooo, emotions had to be something else. Gosh darn it.

I probably could have worded it nicer, but what left my mouth instead was a rushed, "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry, Kuroha-san, think you could look away with Kei while I change? I need to run over to meet Miyako-bachan for afternoon training with Hayate, and I still can't believe I'm the _doofus_ who got too emotional over an overpowered, useless snake and totally forgot about it in all that shit!" Because my closet was big and I still needed to find a good pair of sweatpants. I couldn't even help letting out the loud and pitiful, " _Baaaaah!_ "

Otoha's only response was a quieter and painful "Baaaaah" in return.

"And that's why I meant to say it sooner if not for the Orochimaru issue…" Kei trailed off. Probably because I unintentionally let out a loud and mortified hiss. Cat-like, too. _Aaaaah._ Closet, closet, give me glass slippers and then I'd be off, so cooperate!

 **Tomoko-chan, breathe.** _**Remember to breathe** _ **. Cinderella references aren't going to help you calm down.**

 _Aren't_ you _terrified too, Hisako? This is_ Miyako-bachan _we're talking about!_

 **Who, last I checked, has never seen you** _**late**_ **until now. And it's only been…** Hisako raised her left hand to count off fingers. **Well, an hour, so it shouldn't be too bad! First time's for everything!**

Welp.

Sure, the advice was nice, but _bleh_. The smile she was giving me didn't help anything. It only made the butterflies in my stomach mutate into loud and angry _vultures_ , hungry for my anxious entrails. I was lucky that Miyako-bachan wasn't as hard on me like some other people, but _still_. Anxiety did not help anything.

 _Um, Hisako, it's still an_ hour _. And it's MIYAKO-BACHAN._

**…Point. Hope she won't be angry?**

In my haste, I ended up grabbing the nearest pair of pants I could find, being baggy blue shorts before pausing. Oooookay, this specific pair wasn't in my best interest, considering the flecks of dirt covering the pockets from my _last_ Gai-related training session, and considering my nearby…full laundry basket, um. So…

My gaze fell down to my bottom half, my hand tugging at the hem of my shirt. "Er, Kei? Silly question, but is Miyako-bachan okay with skirts? Because I forgot to do laundry."

There was a pause as a hand made hard contact with a forehead behind me. It was obvious who it was. "Tomo, we _have_ training gi. You could just go as you are right now." She paused before adding, "Or I could just piggyback you back home?"

Uh. That was nice, but the stomach butterflies could beg to differ. Heavily. I did my best to swivel my head back to meet her questioning stare without rolling my eyes. "If not for the fact that I worry about _throwing up_ over your shoulder, sure! Anyone have a magic cure for motion sickness?"

Otoha flapped their hands from what looked like distress. Oh no, I was horrible because I was affecting them too. "Well, there's always ginger."

"My point exactly, Kuroha-san. My point exactly." I smoothed out my blouse, dusted off the back of my skirt, and glanced over my closet again before grabbing the nearest pair of clean exercise socks. Why, oh _why_ , did I forget to do laundry today? Oh right. Snake man. Sucked ass. "Don't get me wrong, I appreciate you two _very_ much," Kei and Otoha glanced at each other and shared a chuckle at that, "but I don't want to get _bile_ on you two! I set myself up for this, so I have to reap my mistake! Even _if_ it means facing Miyako-bachan's wrath!"

Maybe the fist pump was a bit much. Still, it was a good way of getting myself in the spirits to face the future, and once I grabbed a spare hair band for exercise, it was turning back and fully facing them. My best friends. There was one thing left. "So, uh. Well, you two can still follow me?"

Kei grinned widely before getting up from her seat cushion. "I still have to head back and look after Hayate, so that's a given, Tomo."

On the other hand, Kuroha-san blinked before letting out what sounded like a combo of their usual happy dinosaur trill and something more nervous. Huh? "I'm coming too!" The remark was said rather loudly too, so I couldn't help but jump.

 **…What just happened?** Hisako filled in for me.

Kei gave Otoha a confused glance. "Uh, you okay?"

"Um, yeah? Just fine." Otoha gave us both a thumbs-up when it became obvious we were staring in their direction. It seemed alright, but Hisako's quirked eyebrow was more than enough to express my concern. After the snake man, I had more than enough of an excuse to be fussy.

 _Staaaaaare_.

"Uh." Otoha waved us off with their hands, shaking their head all the while. "I'm fine, To-To, Kei-Kei. Really. I promise."

I closed my eyes, doing my best to not clench my jaw. Teasing and prodding wouldn't get us anywhere, and the clock was ticking. Way too ominously. Gosh darn it. Miyako-bachan wouldn't let me hear the end of it at this rate. "Well, the tables are turned now. But time is precious. Talk later, run now?"

Otoha nodded just as Kei snapped her fingers. "Yep. Still up for a piggyback, Tomo?"

Um. The answer was obvious. "Please, Kei. _No_."

"It was an idea."

"Again, no. Let me handle your mom's anger, please?"

* * *

"You sure about this, Tomo?"

My hand was already resting on the doorknob when the question was posed. I took in a breath to steady myself. Running had become easier, considering I wasn't sweating _this_ time, buuuuuut. "...50% sure."

Behind my right shoulder, Otoha interrupted with a quiet and vibrating, "Why 50%, To-To?"

 **Because she's** _ **Izumi Curtis**_ **in a yukata and longer hair?**

Instead of saying _that_ , I blurted out a high-pitched squeak of, "Because Kei's mom is a badass swordswoman and a wonderful teacher, but she's _still_ scary?"

Kei's stare was already starting to burn holes into the back of my head. I couldn't tell if it was worry or suspicion or both, considering how her stare was still unreadable sometimes. It almost felt like I could burst into flames alone from her stare. _Aaaaah._ "Tomo, I can handle Mom for you. You don't have to worry."

**Sweet idea…buuuut.**

I turned back to shake my head, feeling the familiar heat flood my cheeks, this time of shame. "Kei, I'm an _hour_ late. Even if I had emotional issues," she gave me a raised eyebrow at this, but I continued, "that doesn't change the fact that I'm late by more than an _hour_!" It took almost everything I had to not pace back and forth and keep my grip on the door handle. "I promised Miyako-bachan, and I missed it. I-I'm a bit scared, but I _have_ to deal with it."

Otoha and Kei's stares in my head, from what I could see past my bangs anyways, spoke volumes of their disbelief. "To-To…" Another soft dinosaur trill graced my ears as soon as a hand reached over to squeeze my free left one, and I turned my head to meet Kuroha-san's brown eyes. "It's okay. Kei-Kei wouldn't lie. We got your back."

"Besides, Tomo," Kei said softly, poking the back of my head with a finger, "Mom's been fond of you for _years_. I don't think she's going to explode on you."

"…I hope?"

Otoha pitched in a strangled noise. _Aaah_. Kei was giving that same unimpressed look again, accentuated with another poke to my head. Yep. She wasn't buying it either. "Tomo. Just relax."

I gulped, nodded, and turned back to the door. It didn't take much to open it, but once the visage of a lavender yukata registered in the new space, I was already freezing.

She was standing _right behind_ the door.

"Hello, Tomoko-chan," Miyako-bachan said coolly, hands hidden away in her yukata sleeves. From what I could see of her face, she was completely stoic, giving away nothing as her gaze was level with mine. "I see Kei-chan is with you."

 **Tomoko-chan, breathe.** _**Breathe** _ **.**

Of course my Nobody would notice that my lungs stopped taking in air first.

"Um," I said instead, because a lump had surfaced in my throat and I could vaguely make out some noises behind me that I knew _wasn't_ from Kei. Panic was already bubbling up in my gut like a volcano. _Aaaaaaah_. What was I supposed to say in the face of that? My mouth moved without thinking as I ducked my head."Yeah. Um, Miyako-bachan, I'm sorry. I'm so, so, _so_ sorry! I met up with Kei and another friend—"

"Tomoko-chan."

"We were talking for a long while, andIkindagottooemotionalandlosttrackoftime, soI'msosososorry—"

" _Tomoko-chan_." A hand landed on top of my head, stopping the ramble right in its tracks. I tried not to flinch, closing my mouth in time to look up. Miyako-bachan only smiled serenely. "I am not angry."

"…Oh?" was the rather intelligent answer from me.

"Surprised, but not angry," she added in the same quiet voice, brushing a stray strand of hair back before glancing past me. "From the situation, I am assuming you and Kei-chan have made a new friend in your unexpected absence?"

"Yep!" Kei answered for me, rather proudly too. She had wrapped an arm around the now apparently frozen Otoha in the time it took for me to ramble like a dolt. "This is Kuroki Otoha, Mom! Our friend, fellow ninja and bookworm. Otoha, Mom. Mom, Otoha!"

"A-Also known as Kuroha-san?" I added sheepishly. "To me, anyways…" My voice cracked again.

If Miyako-bachan was surprised, she didn't give off the impression of it. Instead, she lifted her hand from my head to smile broadly in Otoha's direction. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Otoha-kun. Would you like to come in?"

"...!" Was the best approximation of Kuroha-san's reaction, jaw clenched before putting up the biggest and happiest crooked smile as acknowledgement. From the looks of it, it seemed like Otoha had lost all sense of words. Instead of a response, they nodded while letting out a loud siren noise.

 **Whoa,** Hisako said.

I glanced at Kei in question, but she simply shrugged and squeezed Kuroha-san's shoulders all the while, almost as if to steady her. Kuroha-san was still staring in Miyako-bachan's direction with wide eyes and that same crooked smile.

Meanwhile, Miyako-bachan glanced between the three of us with that same smile. She wasn't fazed, I'm guessing? "How about the three of you come in? I can prepare tea and some snacks." She turned back around with a dainty step into the Gekkō household, and paused. "Tomoko-chan, be sure to talk to Wataru about training gi, alright? We will start as soon as you are ready."

Hisako let out a small sigh. Of course. **…Yep, knew she wasn't going to let us out of this.**

I still couldn't stop myself from smiling because _Miyako-bachan wasn't angry_. Thank the _gods_. Or Buddha. Or whoever. Because good luck was _good luck_. "O-Okay!" Maybe it was the stress. Or the fading heat of my cheeks. Still. I don't even know where the name came from before it was already coming out of my mouth. "Thank you, Miyako-shishō!"

I could already _feel_ Kei and Otoha's surprised stares boring into my back. _Aaaaaah,_ what the fuck did I just _say_. Sure, Miyako-bachan was pretty, awesome, and really well-off for a woman in Konoha, and I just _respect her_ , okay?! _Aaaaah._

Miyako-bachan visibly paused her walking pace back in the house. "Shishō?" Without wasting a single second, she turned her head to face me again, long black ponytail brushing her neck all the while, a smaller smile on her face. "Tomoko-chan, you do not have to call me shishō."

Oh gosh. "B-But you teach me a lot of things, Miyako-bachan, so you're shishō to me too!"

Miyako-bachan's smile broadened. "Oh, Tomoko-chan, come in and take off your sandals already. You will catch a cold if you stand out in the wind all day."

More embarrassed heat. Aaaaah. I was so cheesy. My feet were already sweating. "Okay! I-I'm coming!"

Kei simply chuckled softly behind me. Otoha was still silent.

* * *

"Strike-one! Block! Backstep! Tomoko-chan, you are faltering! Keep a steady breath!"

"Hah! Hah!" The snap of a shinai in the air. "R-Roger that, Miyako-shishō!"

"Block again!"

"Hah!"

"Backstep! Backstep! Backstep! Strike-two! I did not hear a snap of the shinai, Tomoko-chan! Swing harder!"

"H-Hai, Miyako-shishō!"

"You can do it, Tomo-nee!"

Otoha was still staring out towards Miyako with wide eyes and a big smile as Kei drank some of her green tea. In fact, they were rocking back and forth, muttering a happy, "Mama Gekkō, Mama Gekkō, Mama Gekkō" all the while. Tomo was doing fine based on chakra alone, even _with_ her iffy endurance, so it was time to focus on the other person in the vicinity. Miyako could take care of Hayate. Kei reached over to poke Otoha's shoulder. "Something the matter, Otoha?"

The enby startled before turning to her with a sheepish smile. They waved their hand in the air as discreetly as she could, shaking her head to the previous question. "'M good, Kei-Kei," was the happy response, and Kei nodded. Semiverbal. Alright then. "Really really happy." Otoha then paused, turning their head back to look at the training session still going on between Miyako and Tomoko.

A moment of silence, aside from the snapping of shinai, Hayate's cheering, and Miyako's barked instructions, passed between the two.

"Otoha?" Kei whispered.

Otoha turned back to her with a big, shaky grin, swaying to the side on their seat cushion to bump shoulders. "You have good mom, Kei-Kei."

Kei grinned back. Otoha was really happy. "I'm glad you like her."

A few tears leaked out of Otoha's brown eyes, and Kei waited for them to wipe the tears away with their sleeve. A single second, and then: "Can I come here more often?"

"No one is saying no, Otoha," Kei replies, the grin already making her cheeks hurt from how big it was on her face. "It's always nice to have company."

Otoha's smile broadened as they nodding hard again, a quiet content noise coming out of their throat. "Thank you, Lang-Lang," was the happy reply. Otoha went on to bump Kei with their elbow while continuing to sway side to side.

"No problem, Otoha," Kei turned back to look at the training session, holding back a small snicker. "No problem."

"Tomoko-chan, your stance is too loose! Tighten your muscles!"

"H-Hai, Miyako-shishō!"

"Strike again!"

"HAH!"

Even with the hard swipe of Tomoko's shinai in the air, Kei didn't miss the small and happy dinosaur trill nearby. It was peaceful. Just as it should be.


	11. Mama Gekkō

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because past me made some mistakes with the original version of Chapter 10 that went up on Tumblr, and Beta was nice enough to rectify that. — Vy  
> \----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Vy wrote a thing and there were some things that needed working on regarding how she wrote Otoha, so she asked if I would write the thing from Otoha's POV. So that's what this is.
> 
> (Note, there is a significant difference between what I wrote here and what I wrote as a reaction in the other post. And that's because while writing it my mind went a different route. Different reactions for different circumstances.)

"To-To, you feeling better?" I asked, hoping she was. I was happy to help make people feel better, especially friends, but sometimes — ok, basically all the time — not knowing what to do or how to act or what to say made things awkward. Really awkward. At least for me.

Uncomfortable was probably the right word.

Tomoko still wiped her nose and gave a weak smile. "Y-Yeah, better. A bit shaken, but better. You?"

Still next to her, I made a quiet noise in my throat. Yeah. Things were better.

Of course for some reason that earned a small laugh from Tomoko. _Did I do something funny?_

Instead, she simply patted my arm and said, "Of course, Osie. Of course."

"'Osie,' huh? That was fast," Kei said, smirking at something.

Ok, I had definitely done something. But what? What happened?

"Though, Tomo?" Kei added.

"Hm?" Well, at least Tomoko was just as confused as I was.

"Don't you think you're forgetting something?"

Looking between the two of them didn't give me any answers. Tomoko just wiped at her face more before frowning at Kei. "Forgetting _what_? We just talked about our latest Conspiracy Plot of _killing_ a Creepy Slimy Snake Man, Kei, what else is there for us to do?"

Well, it wasn't about killing him. More like making it so we could limit the harm he could do before the authorities caught on and ran him out of town. And making it so he couldn't disappear me.

Still. Kei pointed at the clock behind her. I missed what she said as I focused on the clock. Ugh. Analogue. It took me until fifth grade to be able to read them last time around. And I still got it wrong half the time because I forgot to account for the hands moving.

"It's after one in the afternoon…" Tomoko said at a slow enough pace to match my thoughts. My continued squinting though was interrupted by Tomoko realizing _something_ and proceeding to freak the fuck out over it.

At least Tomoko frantically running around the room while rambling her stream of conscious thoughts was normal. That at least was easy to navigate.

And since it was apparently something I was left out of the loop of knowing, I got to stand back and watch.

"Kei, why didn't you say it sooner?!" was Tomoko's high pitched whine of worry.

She was really worked up over this. She really needed to just stop and take a breath.

Kei just raised a finger and every memory I had of her forgetting to do something sprang into my mind. "I meant to say it earlier?"

Ah, Kei.

Tomoko of course continued to freak out. Although she was right, Kei forgetting to say something didn't help. But Tomoko freaking out didn't help either. Frantically running around and almost kicking me and Kei wasn't going to solve anything. Nor would rummaging through her closet like a tornado.

And the entire situation was making me anxious. I managed a strained, "To-To?"

"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry, Kuroha-san, think you could look away with Kei while I change? I need to run over to meet Miyako-bachan for afternoon training with Hayate, and I still can't believe I'm the doofus who got too emotional over an overpowered, useless snake and totally forgot about it in all that shit! Baaaaah!"

And of course the wall of words hit me with barely any time to process them, but the tone and energy were clear enough. I let my own "Baaaaaah" out, quieter, but just as strained because I didn't have any words.

Tomoko's chakra was all over the place too, which wasn't helping matters. My head was going to explode if she didn't quiet down.

"And that's why I meant to say it sooner if not for the Orochimaru issue…" Kei said before another wordless noise of panic cut her off.

Ugh. And now I was holding my breath because I was anxious. Looking at Kei, she just kind of gave me back a helpless look. Apparently neither of us were equipped to stop whatever Tomoko was panicking over.

But Kei knew what it was. And she wasn't panicking. More like at a loss.

So. We just had to wait.

Yeah. I could wait. Deep breaths. Just wait. Things are gonna be ok. Kei's not panicking.

Eventually, Tomoko stopped with a pair of shorts in her hands and turned to Kei. "Er, Kei? Silly question, but is Miyako-bachan—"

And I kind of forgot to pay attention to the rest of whatever the conversation was.

Because. Miyako.

Miyako Gekkō.

Mama Gekkō.

She was alive. In this moment. In this time. Putty Men hadn't killed her.

I could meet Mama Gekkō.

And then I tuned back in at the wrong moment.

"—that I worry about throwing up over your shoulder, sure! Anyone have a magic cure for motion sickness?"

Aside from severing the vestibular nerve and removing the inner ear input to the sense of motion, not really. It also resulted in permanent hearing loss.

Although ballerinas were less susceptible thanks to their training and learning to ignore the vestibular input.

I bet ninja had some of that. Minato had to have.

Still, motion sickness sucked. At least I didn't have to deal with it in this life. No puking from moving for me!

Letting out a noise I flapped my hands in slight distress at being unable to help with it. I had gotten motion sick from everything in my old life. Hell, even not having my glasses on had been enough in my old life. And this one didn't have dramamine.

"Well, there's always ginger," I said, throwing out the one suggestion people always went to even though it didn't really work all that well.

"My point exactly, Kuroha-san," Tomoko said as she turned back to her clothes. "My point exactly."

Yeah. Motion sickness sucked.

"Don't get me wrong, I appreciate you two very much, but I don't want to get bile on you two!" Tomoko said as she ran around her room, then stopped and proclaimed, "I set myself up for this, so I have to reap my mistake! Even if it means facing Miyako-bachan's wrath!"

Miyako's wrath? I started to open my mouth to stop Tomoko but she started moving again and continued to talk, "So, uh. Well, you two can still follow me?"

Kei smirked a bit then replied, "I still have to head back and look after Hayate, so that's a given, Tomo." Miyako was kind of her mom. It was kind of her place. Of course she was going.

…But Tomoko had said us two. As in I was included. So I could go too. Aaaa, the nervous energy made me fidget before letting out a cry. It was now or never.

"I'm coming too!"

"Uh," Kei said, looking at me, like actually looking looking at me, like she was worried. Why? "You okay?"

"Um, yeah?" I said, and gave them both a thumbs up. "Just fine." Why were they looking at me like that? "Uh." Why were they staring? "I'm fine, To-To, Kei-Kei," I said, waving them off, "Really, I'm fine." They were still staring. "I promise."

Still, it didn't seem like the reaction they wanted. Or like they didn't believe me. The way Tomoko closed her eyes and sighed. And Kei just stared.

Luckily, Tomoko switched the topic. "Well, the tables are turned now. But time is precious. Talk later, run now?"

That sounded good.

Beside me, Kei snapped her fingers. "Still up for a piggyback, Tomo?"

"Please, Kei. _No_ ," was Tomoko's almost wail of a reply.

Kei just shrugged. "It was an idea."

"Again, no. Let me handle your mom's anger, please?" Tomoko said as she ran out the door.

Somehow neither Kei or I got the chance to tell Tomoko she was likely worried over nothing. Mama Gekko was stern and would run her students into the ground during training, but she wasn't mean. To-To had a reason to be late, and it wasn't like Mama Gekko was going to be mad about that.

Hell, she insisted on knocking rather than having Kei just open the door and let everyone in because it was her house and she could do that.

"You sure about this, Tomo?" Kei asked, standing to the side.

Hand on the doorknob, Tomoko hesitated. "…50% sure."

Tilting my head because none of this made any sense, I asked, "Why 50%, To-To?"

"Because Kei's mom is a badass swordswoman and a wonderful teacher, but she's still scary?"

Well, ok, yeah. But she was also Mama Gekkō. There was literally no reason for Tomoko to worry this much.

Kei just sighed. "Tomo, I can handle Mom for you. You don't have to worry."

And Tomoko continued, dismissing whatever attempt to set her at ease. "Kei, I'm an hour late. Even if I had emotional issues, that doesn't change the fact that I'm late by more than an hour! I promised Miyako-bachan, and I missed it. I'm a bit scared, but I have to deal with it."

"To-To…" I said, letting out a distressed noise and grabbing her free hand. "It's okay." She turned to me and I looked away, breaking the eye contact. If I couldn't reassure her with my take on Kei's mom, at least I could back up Kei. Since Miyako was Kei's mom, that made her the expert here, right?

And besides, Mama Gekko was waiting patiently behind the door. Presumably for Tomoko to knock or open the door or something.

"Kei-Kei wouldn't lie. We got your back."

"Besides, Tomo," Kei said and poked Tomoko's head, "Mom's been fond of you for years. I don't think she's going to explode on you."

"…I hope?"

Another strangled noise from my throat. Kei bopped Tomoko on the head again to get her attention. "Tomo. Just relax."

Then the door opened and Tomoko froze. Like, Froze froze. Her chakra did the freezing thing too.

Mama Gekkō on the other hand looked very calm and pretty.

I bit down _hard_ on an excited dino-noise. And the urge to bounce. And flap. And bolt. Because wow, did I feel like I was intruding. Kei at least noticed and put a hand on my shoulder. I was welcome at least.

"Hello, Tomoko-chan, I see Kei-chan is with you."

It didn't do anything to calm Tomoko though. She just steamrolled right through the greeting with apologies and explanations that she didn't really need to give. She didn't even stop when Mama Gekkō tried to interrupt her.

Eventually, Tomoko stopped when Mama Gekkō said, "I am not angry. Surprised, but not angry." Then Mama Gekkō's attention turned from Tomoko who was obviously stunned, to me. "From the situation, I am assuming you and Kei-chan have made a new friend in your unexpected absence?"

Now it was my turn to freeze.

"Yep!" Kei answered happily. Like she was almost excited to introduce me. Like I was gonna be part of this little group. "This is Kuroki Otoha, Mom! Our friend, fellow ninja and bookworm. Otoha, Mom. Mom, Otoha!"

"A-Also known as Kuroha-san, to me, anyways…" Tomoko quietly added.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Otoha-kun," was Mama Gekkō's polite reply.

She called me Otoha-kun.

"Would you like to come in?"

And now the conversation had reached a point where it was my turn to respond to something. My chest was full of bubbles and wow was I excited. Only problem was that meant I was too busy smiling and being happy to remember how to speak. Or even move my mouth. Instead, I just nodded, and let out a noise akin to my old tea-kettle that had sounded like a tornado siren.

Kei was there though and kept her arm 'round my shoulders, keeping me from bolting at the attention.

At least thanks to Kei being weird herself, Mama Gekko just gracefully moved through the conversation. "How about the three of you come in? I can prepare tea and some snacks."

Snacks were good.

And the house. It was such a home.

It wasn't like the bookstore or the apartment with Haha and Chichi who kept it clean in a way that only ninja worried about people breaking in did. It was a home. It was lived in. It was Kei's life here.

I stopped paying attention to whatever Tomoko and Mama Gekkō were talking about and instead slipped into a content and happy daze where my brain idled and I got to turn everything off.

Tomoko started her training after Kei and I got seated at a table with snacks and tea. Grassy green tea. Sweet gummy mochi. Everyone's chakra was calm. Or at least in Tomoko's case as calm as it could be while sword fighting Mama Gekkō. Yeah. Things were good.

Watching the two of them spar was calming. They were in a rhythm in a dance and I unfocused my attention for a while.

Kei poked me though after a bit and I jumped in my seat, suddenly aware again of everything around me.

"Something the matter, Otoha?"

Oh. Kei was just worried. Relaxing again, I shook my head and tried to pull up words. "'M good, Kei-Kei." Today had been exhausting and my brain was enjoying the break. "Really really happy."

"Otoha?" Kei whispered.

Continuing to smile I swayed to the side and bumped Kei with my shoulder. "You have good mom, Kei-Kei." My heart was just so full of quiet happy.

Kei grinned back. "I'm glad you like her."

And there started the tears. Just a bit. A few leaked out and I wiped them away before asking, "Can I come here more often?"

"No one is saying no, Otoha," Kei told me. "It's always nice to have company."

I let out a quiet content noise and bump Kei again with my elbow as I swayed from side to side. "Thank you, Lang-Lang."

"No problem, Otoha," Kei turned back to the training session with that same smile, holding back a snicker at the latest event going on. "No problem."


	12. A Journal Entry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something I originally posted on Tumblr as a passing thought back when college finals were hitting hard, and now somewhat of a character study for a certain pianist. Not as dark as Chapter 8, but that might be up to you, the reader, to decide. Theme this time is the piano version of Snow Flower from Yuki Yuna is a Hero, since it gives a good mood for introspection. — Vy

Sometimes, even with my rambling and unnecessary emotional overreactions, it's still hard to put my real feelings into words. My chakra speaks for me, even when I don't want it to, and even then, not everyone is welcome to it. I physically open my mouth, only to find my voice going onto some other subject, and everyone laughs and calls it a day.

I'm glad everyone still stays. I'm glad no one is willing to leave. But…

I want to say it fully, though. One day. Without stuttering, without faltering. Maybe with some of Mama's sass too, for that confidence booster. Before Canon curses, again. At least, so that they can take it seriously. Not just see it as something to tease me for. Not something to joke around for.

I want the courage to fully bear my heart for them to see. The courage to face my friends, and say the words I keep holding myself back from, because the world is horrible. Because the world is cruel like that, in conditioning people to see horror as normal, and comfort being few and far in-between the lines. It's cruel in _any_ world in how it makes people see inhumane death, prejudice, and violence as normal.

" _I love you."_ I want to say that. " _I want to stay with you forever."_

" _Don't go, please."_ I want to say that too. " _Please, stop risking your life. Please. Don't die on me."_

I could never say anything before because I know they're never going to stop until the war is over. Even now, I still can't. They won't stop fighting until _any_ war is over.

I still don't know if they feel the same way I do. Even if they tell me not to worry before every mission, even with all the time we spend together. Even if they hug back, harder than I ever do.

Kei. Otoha. Obito. Rin. Kakashi.

My best friends. My newfound family. My ninja.

I don't want them to die. I just don't.

They don't deserve to die in a pool of their own blood.

Remembering the pain of death does something.

Wandering alone in the void for so long does something.

Not knowing of the future that's to come, even after death, does something.

Being reborn in a world that you knew wasn't real, does something.

I still don't know if I'm doing everything I can for them. For the friends I still sometimes feel like I don't deserve. I could hurt them. Like how I did Ty. Like how I did my past family. Like how I could hurt Mama and Papa right now, for feeling like this.

I'm not perfect. I'm not the best at keeping calm either. I _

_(The paper wrinkles here, as if blotched by some kind of liquid before it continues at the next line.)_

I chose not to be a ninja to honor Leo and Josh. But now, I'm just thinking, and these thoughts hurt because they keep coming back. Back, back, back.

I keep thinking that something is going to happen, and I'm going to be alone again. I keep thinking that people will start hating me again.

Hating me for anything, maybe everything. For small things, like being late. For big things, like misgendering and not getting work done on time. For a lot of things. For thinking like this. For worrying too much.

Team Minato has been getting stronger lately. Otoha - Kuroha-san too, considering their spars with Kei. They should be okay, they should survive, but…

Any one of them could die, and I'm scared.

I want to say the words so much, just to keep them with me. I want them to stop fighting, to let the ninja world go, and just live. I want them to stay.

I want them to stay with me.

I'm just scared. I don't know anymore. I feel so selfish. So horrible, for even considering this. For even writing this.

I want to believe. In them.

I want to believe in the people I love more than anything else now.

I'm just scared.

At least admitting it here helps, a little bit. My heart doesn't feel as heavy anymore.

I'm really nothing in front of these ninja, aren't I…

Maybe one day, I'll tell them. I don't think they'll listen, considering how much the ninja world has conditioned them already. I don't even know if they'll even hear me anymore.

I just don't want to hide behind a smile anymore.

I want to ramble without end, to smile without end, to relax without end, and to love them without end. I want to be with them without fearing that they'll go before me.

I want us to be friends forever. No matter what happens.


	13. Nailed It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A complete funny thing that was originally inspired by Beta's thoughts on the baking show of the same name. :) I don't own anything but Tomoko. Otoha belongs to Osie, and Kei to Lang.
> 
> Written originally in thanks to the duo for cheering me up after some grade revelations. Everything turned out okay, so me writing. :D — Vy

The three judges couldn't help but watch with wide eyes, because the scene that was unfolding in front of them wasn't something that happened every day on _Nailed It_. The premise was simple: three contestants would try to replicate a complicated bakery design cake, and whoever got the closest, or "nailed it," received one million ryo in prize money compensation. The other two would be given a nice ribbon for trying.

This week's list of bakers was…

"AH, F— THIS."

Something. The curse word had to be censored because network reasons.

The judges didn't even know _where_ the show had contacted these three chefs, but considering that they all knew each other to the point of a shared group hug and a warm conversation before the competition, the showrunners must've had high hopes.

It quickly became obvious with the run of the timer that the showrunners were probably on something. Or drunk.

To summarize: all three chefs needed extra time for various reasons, one kitchen was currently on fire to the point of firefighters being called in by staff, one was far too quiet to really note anything, and the last one was apparently windy.

The owner of the windy kitchen was actually humming to themselves, rocking back and forth while rolling out fondant like a professional to the point where the judges were glancing at each other as to _why_ extra time was needed in the first place. They already _looked_ like a pro, and at this point, this episode was already showing a winner before anything was even finished. The only question was _why_ things seemed to get sliced up cleanly with a wave of their hands.

The quiet kitchen? All the judges could hear was the hum of recorded piano music as the girl behind the counter whipped up some homemade frosting before adding in some cocoa powder for color, not even using food coloring. It looked far too simple. Cute, but simple.

The kitchen on fire? Well…

"Y'know what, I'm just going to go with this," the doomed contestant muttered, making a few hand signs before the kitchen was promptly doused with water. And their messy black hair just became messier with their being doused too. "Or maybe not."

The judges were seriously starting to think the showrunners had their pants on fire if they found two _ninja_ for this episode. That was the only method of explaining the wind and sudden water in the stage area. The piano-girl was the only odd exception, and even then, they couldn't help but level a suspicious look towards her kitchen.

Once three hours were up, all three "chefs" stepped up to the judging table.

The "fire-water" contestant, or Kei, as the others called her, stepped up first. "Ta-da," she said dryly, before unveiling what could only be called mochi. There was just a few on the plate itself, enough for the judges to all share, but they tasted good and a judge surprisingly asked for seconds. Even if the technicians were trying to figure out what happened to the poor oven from the massive fire earlier.

"No hope in trying to replicate what was on the table with the fire, so I went with something I knew," she justified with a shrug of her shoulders.

The judges were all too terrified to ask further, because her stare felt like it was burning holes into their heads. Extra reminder to throttle the showrunners later.

The "wind" contestant, Otoha, stepped up next. They seemed to be biting down on a happy noise, but was rocking back and forth with a big smile nonetheless while unveiling their creation. "Here you go!"

The cake that was on Otoha's plate was almost sparkling in the eyes of the judges. The fondant was perfectly recreated to be the decoration that was initially set out, and aside from some lopsided frosting peaks, it was perfect. The judges all immediately declared it delicious, in spite of the surface being somewhat cold, probably from the wind.

"I've done this before, so it was simple!" Otoha beamed, adding a small dinosaur trill afterwards.

The last contestant, the most "normal" contestant, Tomoko, was blushing when stepping up last. Even with Kei patting her back, she only jolted before nearly thrusting her plate into the judges' faces. "I-I wasn't sure on my decoration skills, but I tried my best!"

Because of Tomoko's apparent anxiety, the host of the show was nice enough to unveil her creation instead. What was inside could only be called as "adorable," with the cake inside having a basic crumb coat of frosting and decorated with brown peaks of cream, probably from the cocoa powder. What made it all the more cute to the judges was the brown peaks coming together to make a veil of lace on the sides of the cake and a heart on top, as if the girl had just made the cake for a loved one.

"I usually make things for friends and family, and I didn't want to roll out fondant on a time-limit, so I just went with something familiar and nice so that you all could enjoy it…" Tomoko then covered her red face with her hands, ducking her head to instead hide behind Otoha, who let out a soft hum and patted her hair. "I'msorryfornotadheringtothesubject!"

The judges found the cake adorable and good to eat with a cup of coffee, in spite of not even matching the complex decorations the original subject asked for. They didn't even have the heart to comment on her not accomplishing the objective because of how sweet the cake was.

The rewards were almost expected.

Otoha was first place for making a near-perfect replication of the subject, only pointers being the cold fondant.

Tomoko was second in spite of not making the subject itself, out of the judges enjoying her cake and her efforts.

Kei… there was no words.

The three did share a big group hug afterwards, so the judges all shrugged at it.


	14. To Deliver a Gift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I think this upcoming statement should be obvious, but considering Tumblr's a hellsite and current problems with net neutrality, I'm saying it anyways for the sake of safety.
> 
> I don't own anything but Tomoko. Kei belongs to Lang and Otoha to Beta. Originally written as a New Year's Present to end off 2018.
> 
> The theme this time is from No Game No Life: Zero, being the soundtrack titled Touching Heart. Don't worry, this fic is supposed to be more fluffy and hopeful this time, unlike the last time I used something from this movie. ;p For those of you who followed the OST Playlist on YouTube, let's just say I had an initial idea in mind for this fic, but changed it for more positivity in the room. So there's that. — Vy

"Hey, Kei?"

My first reincarnation buddy paused while polishing her kodachi with a cleaning cloth, whetstone nearby. She didn't speak at first, choosing to put her sword down before giving me a curious glance. "What is it, Tomo?"

I tried not to fidget with the hem of my skirt, instead pressing my fingers together. It was a simple question. I could try to not squeak. "C-Could I ask you something?"

"Before that, Tomo?" Kei patted her left knee with a crooked smile. "Sit down next to me before your legs give out?"

I glanced down at my knees. Sure enough, they were shaking. Gosh darn it. I was working well on the voice, it just had to be something else that gave me away.

**Deep breaths, dear, deep breaths. Breathe in, hold it, then breathe out.**

I inhaled slowly, held it for a single second, and then walked over to sit down on my knees near Kei's left side. Yes, I know it's seiza, but being nervous means you do things out of habit, no matter how painful said things could be, and something that carried over from my time as Vy was the seiza position. Being Buddhist in a previous life meant learning it. The various tea ceremony lessons from Miyako-bachan simply reinforced that old lesson. "Can I ask now?"

"Yeah," Kei said casually, pushing the whetstone away for more breathing space. Then again, of course she'd notice my tension. She was the sensor that pointed out my chakra going wonky with _ninshu_ after all. "What's up, Tomo?"

I exhaled the breath I was holding before inhaling once more, saying the darn thing in one quick breath. "D-Do you know what days Kuroha-san's working at the hospital?"

My best friend huffed quietly, leaning back on her hands while looking up at the ceiling of her house. "Are you planning something, Tomo?" Kei paused before adding, "It sounds like you are. Delivery?"

Out of embarrassment at being caught, or just my own slight bit of shame at being so easy to read, heat was already flooding my face. "B-Banana bread. Was thinking of baking. Um. A-And bringing it over. Creepy Snake Man is enough to deal with already on a daily basis, and they mentioned working shifts at the hospital, so. Something sweet to help relieve stress?" There went my voice. It cracked. Again. Thankfully, the volume didn't fluctuate to the point of it echoing in the entire house.

I could already feel Kei's surprised stare into the side of my head before there was soft laughter.

Out of old habit and exasperation, I puffed my cheeks. " _Muuuuu._ Keiiiii, it's not funny…"

Kei shook her head, still snickering into her right hand all the while. What _was_ so funny? Did I do something? "Pfffft, sorry. Still, Tomo, you don't have to be nervous." I was not expecting her to reach over and pat my head with that same right hand. I was definitely missing something. "The fact that you want to deliver something would make anyone happy. Especially Otoha."

I blinked up at her, releasing the air in my cheeks to frown. "Kei?"

"Really, Tomo." Kei was smiling again. "I'm sure Otoha would love that."

 **That's what I've been** _**telling** _ **her all this time!**

 _I can't help but_ be _nervous, Hisako, okay?!_

My Nobody sighed just as the last question left my lips in the outside world. "…Positive?"

Kei's black eyes widened, blinking in surprise at me.

"I-I mean," I ended up fumbling with my skirt, looking down at my lap while trying to pull more chakra down to my legs to prevent any metaphorical blood loss. "I-I can be pretty loud, and I know the last time I panicked, Kuroha-san looked really uncomfortable. I know I'm not the best, and I can ramble a bit too much, so—"

 _BONK_.

I tried not to wince, looking up while rubbing my head. Did she just—

**I think she did. You needed that.**

_Heeeeey…_

"Tomo." Kei was smiling that same crooked smile all over again while pulling her left hand back. Was I really missing something, or was I deluding myself? "I'm doubly positive," she reaffirmed with that same smile, and I tried not to wince once her hand started ruffling my hair. "Just be you, Tomo. Without being nervous, I mean. Just be you. Otoha wouldn't have hugged you that hard in our first meeting if she did mind being with you."

_Oh._

**See?**

I made eye contact with both Kei and Hisako before nodding, smile on my face too. My heart had already swelled to twice its size from the warmth of the words alone. "Alright," was my quiet answer. There was nothing else I could say, after all, in the face of all that. It was getting harder to refute Kei, or any of my other friends or loved ones now. "I got it."

Kei grinned again, pulling me close by the head to stage-whisper into my ear. "So, about those hospital shifts…"

* * *

The picnic basket wasn't all that heavy on my right arm. Heck, a part of me thought that the banana bread would be heavier considering its loaf size. But with it carefully covered up in the cloth Mama gave me as a bundle placed in the basket itself, the whole load was nestled in the crook of my arm without too much weight. It certainly wasn't a feather, but I could carry it.

Today was a day where I was supposed to put on a performance at the hospital anyways. The war was still ongoing, after all. It was really the keyboard strapped to my back that attracted attention, but ignoring it wasn't much.

 **Now…** Hisako hummed around the obviously fake pipe she made for herself, huffing dramatically. **Where is that ANBU enby of ours…?**

I glanced around as soon as the hospital doors swung open for me. A few nurses nodded happily at me, and I smiled back in common courtesy. The front desk was coming up, so where…

"Welcome to Konoha General Hospital, is there anything—"

My heart swelled up to twice its size once those brown eyes looked up from past the computer at the front desk. The same round glasses, and somewhat messy and smooth brown hair.

I found them.

"To-To?" Kuroha-san ducked their head, smiling while flapping one of their hands. "Uh. Hi. Welcome to the hospital."

 _Avoiding eye contact… Kei did say Otoha didn't like direct eye contact._ I took a breath and smiled. It was still Otoha. One of my best friends, Otoha. "Hi, Kuroha-san. I hope I'm not disturbing you?"

What sounded like a small dinosaur hum echoed in the air, and it took a few seconds for me to realize it came from Otoha. Awww. "N-Not at all. I'm just taking a shift at the hospital today. Snake — I mean — Orochimaru-sensei was out doing some errands today, so I was free."

Of course. Still keeping up cover. Otoha was a ninja too, and considering their role as Orochimaru's lab assistant, it made sense. Even if a part of me wanted to puke at the whole "sensei" moniker, because the douche didn't deserve that name. It still felt different though, seeing Kuroha-san fumble around the desk for something compared to the many times they came to the cafe. Even if the cover of "loyal lab assistant" still had to be maintained, there was something about Otoha's behavior now that just proved, no matter what, we were still reincarnation buddies in the end.

Why was I so nervous in the first place? This was so easy to do, visiting the hospital and making small talk with them. I shouldn't have been nervous. Especially around them. They felt like Kei. Warm, welcoming, reliable.

"So, To-To?" Otoha peeked at me from behind the apparently large pile of paperwork at the front desk, dinosaur roar already coming out of their throat. "What did you come here for?"

"Music!" I didn't even know where my cheery voice had come from, but it was here, so might as well use it. It was more relaxing than me yelling into the uncaring void from anxiety, after all. At least, I hoped so. There was still so many things about Otoha I didn't know, and was still learning, but Kei was confident enough. So maybe, if I could… "And, well…"

**You can do it, dear. You can do it.**

Otoha inclined her head at me, questioning noise already coming up in their throat. "To-To?"

With nothing else to say, I raised my arm to deposit the picnic basket onto the front counter, pushing it forward in a way so that it didn't accidentally knock the call bell off. "Banana bread? For you."

Kuroha-san's eyes widened significantly as their jaw clenched. Their gaze snapped between me and the basket for a few seconds before finally landing on me. It was the first gesture of eye contact this entire interaction, and it still lasted the same amount of time it took for the realization to set in. A few seconds and then Otoha looked away, flapping their hands in the air once more. A soft happy trill was leaving their throat before I heard the soft, "Me?"

 **Awwww,** Hisako cooed for me.

"For you," I finished, because now I was smiling and it was hard to even stop. "You mentioned during some of our meetings how past me — I mean, _Vy_ , wanted to bake you something when we met in real life back then, like the cinnamon pizzelles or banana bread, and we've _been_ friends for a long while now, so…" I took a step back while pushing the basket forward for Otoha to take, shouldering the strap holding the keyboard to my back. It wouldn't do for its weight to bring me down. Not now. I was supposed to be used to this. "I wanted to come by and visit you? Just to do that."

The big smile was hard to miss on Otoha's face as they rocked back and forth in their desk chair, humming something I couldn't fully make out. If anything, the humming reminded me of happy raptors, running around if not for Otoha still being seated. Their hands were left sitting between their legs to rest on the chair as the rocking continued, and— "Sweets, sweets, sweets…!"

 **Awwww.** Hisako said again.

 _Awww._ I couldn't even help the thought myself because they were humming _happily_. Without a care in the world, truly relaxed, a warm _happy_ feeling. That's what it sounded like. It didn't take long for me to hear another happy dinosaur trill, followed by another musing of, "Sweets, sweets, sweets!" Kuroha-san wasn't even looking at me now, having closed their eyes while rocking, and despite some weird stares from visitors behind me, the smile on my face in return was genuine. Just as big, just as genuine.

The last time I saw Otoha like this was when they had met Miyako-bachan for the first time.

_I wish they could be this happy forever…_

The thought was shameless and rather unreasonable, but it still came up in my head anyways.

Still, my heart beat in my chest, reminding me that reality was still a thing, and I lightly tapped the counter to get Otoha's attention. "K-Kuroha-san?" my voice, this time, thankfully came out soft and gentle.

It took a single second for them to blink and come back down from their happy trilling, and they turned to me with a small jump. "To-To?"

Even when happy, they still used that nickname. My smile widened. "Do you want to take a break? I brought some paper plates and napkins in the basket if you want to eat now."

Kuroha-san swayed side to side again, a la their excited rocking from earlier, just a bit more subdued. "Yes yes," they said, voice high-pitched with happiness. "Kei-Kei here too. Can join."

 **…Wait.** Hisako's smile dropped for a surprised fish-face. **Kei?**

 _Kei?_ Outwardly, I said, as calmly as I could, "Kei's here, Kuroha-san?"

Otoha simply pointed a finger upwards, and I looked up only to feel my jaw slacken.

A nearby civilian intern shrieked bloody murder before keeling over.

"Hey, Tomo, Otoha!" Kei waved from the nearby _open_ air duct shaft, smiling wryly. Apparently crouching on the ceiling with chakra wasn't even an issue? Or was I just focusing too much on bad posture again? "Was wondering when you'd notice me!" She glanced at the fallen intern before rubbing the back of her neck. "Uh. Whoops."

**Goddammit, Kei.**

Another intern was already lifting their fallen comrade in a piggyback ride, shaking their head in Kei's direction before skulking off, fallen person in tow.

"Obvious!" Kuroha-san interrupted, voice still high-pitched. They were still pointing. "Watching whole time!"

Hisako slammed a hand to her face, shaking her head in exasperation. **GODDAMMIT, KEI.**

My cheeks were already flooding with heat at the revelation and I was tempted to pout, because really, could I at least be trusted to go around the village alone at least _once._ But it wasn't the time to complain. My heart and mind, despite their disparities, could agree. I took a breath to steady myself instead, putting my hands on my hips. "Could you come down from there? If you wanted a bit of banana bread yourself, you could've _asked_ instead of sneaking around in the air ducts, Kei."

"Lots here!" Otoha added with a happy noise at the end of the statement. I guess the happy juice was still around. At this rate, I could see the three of us doing a comedy routine. Pft.

**You could try?**

_Yeah, and my humor_ wouldn't _be limited to puns and old world jokes._

 **I dunno, dear, you** _**could…**_

_Nah. Just, nah._

My Nobody shrugged. **Whatever you say.**

"Oh?" Kei was smirking now, and I tried not to jolt once she jumped down from the air shaft to face us both. "But I wouldn't be able to get a rise out of my best civilian friend now, would I?"

"I'm your _only_ civilian friend."

She waved it off with a hand, still smirking. "Details, details. So?" Kei shouldered the kodachi on her back, rolling her free shoulder all the while. "Are we going to hang out over sweets or not?"

I glanced at Otoha. They gave me a _loud_ and happy dinosaur trill in response, pushing their desk chair back quick enough to where it silently _skidded_ against the hospital tile. "On break!"

A fond sigh was already leaving my lips. These doofs. "Well. I guess that's a yes. And I'm far too simple. Let's go to the cafeteria?"

Kei and Otoha were sharing a warm laugh, because in the time it took for me to say that, Otoha had already pushed any paperwork and the front desk to the side to come around for a hug. The smile back on my part didn't even hurt my cheeks anymore.

These moments were why the nervousness, I guess, was worth it in the end.

I'd rather be the butt of the joke than make these people unhappy. And to see them laugh and smile without worrying about blood in the future, like this, right now — I would do anything for that.

"Oh, you two ninja, c'mon. We can laugh about my obliviousness over some food. I'll cut the bread for you."

"Yay!"

"Already looking forward to it."

For now, in the times of war and Creepy Snake Guy reigning in the shadows, I'd take what peace I could get.


	15. Training Muses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally inspired by a drawing of mine and a passing want to make some friends happy before I go back into my school routine again for yet another quarter. :p Plus wanting to improve in my writing Otoha.
> 
> Again, I don't own anyone but Tomoko and the story. Kuroki Otoha belongs to Beta and Gekkō Keisuke belongs to Lang. The themes for this story are Amanda Lee's English version of Rurouni Kenshin's Freckles and the Orgel Version of Legend of Mermaid from Mermaid Melody. The old classics fit for some fluff. ;)
> 
> Please enjoy! — Vy

_Poke, poke, poke._

**Ugh…** Hisako waved a hand in front of her face, glasses barely hanging onto the bridge of her nose. **What shit hit the fan? We were having a nice nap, jerk…!**

I tried not to groan. "Muuuuu, what is it…"

_Poke, poke, poke._

My ears, even when half-asleep, could pick up voices.

"Kei-Kei, To-To looks tired, don't you think we should leave her be?"

"Otoha, Tomo needs a break. And that calls for fresh air considering the number of people staring." _Poke, poke, poke, poke._ "Trust me, Hikari-bachan requested it."

"If you're sure, then go ahead."

It didn't take long for me to register my friends' voices echoing in my ears. And the pointer finger continuing to poke my exposed right cheek. Napping was a no go, it seems.

**What are your chances of throttling Kei?**

_None. Because_ why.

My Nobody huffed angrily in my place. **She disturbed sleep… and she's the one with the eyebags.**

_Hey, hey, no jabs, Hisako. It's okay. I'm up._

With that thought in mind, I tried not to sound grumpy, raising my head from my arms to shake any grogginess out. "I-I'm up, I'm up, what is it now…" I glanced at myself before feeling the cold surface, quite literally hands first. "I…fell asleep on the piano, didn't I?"

"Yep. Snoozing away without a care in the world!" Kei finished, pulling her hand back to grin at me. The dork. It was hard to stay grumpy in the face of _that_ smile. "Hey, Tomo. Glad to see you back in the world of the living."

Otoha was looming behind Kei, jumping up a little so that they were visible past Kei's shoulder, grinning too. "Hi, To-To!" A soft dinosaur trill accentuated the end of their words, and I noted that as another way of greeting.

The residual heat that was my newest bit of embarrassment was already flooding my cheeks, but I made sure to wipe at any drool hanging at the corner of my lips. "Hi, Kei, Kuroha-san," was my quiet reply, and the two ninja continued to grin at me once a yawn left my mouth. Hey, hey, that yawn, by the way, was completely unintentional. It just…happened. "Good morning to you too…?"

Uh. The slurring? I don't have an explanation for that. Then again, considering what little I got from Kei and Otoha's conversation earlier… Kei was giving me an exasperated smile now. "Tomo, it's almost _noon_. It's way past morning now. What have you been _doing_?"

"Working?"

Otoha glanced between the two of us before adding an incredulous, "To-To, have you been taking care of yourself?"

"Um." I glanced down at my clothes. The Sylveon colors were still as bright as always, with no stains in sight, and my legs felt fine. All that was left was my upper body, and my hands were okay, even though they were my pillows earlier. My head? A bit fuzzy from being half-awake, half-asleep, but wasn't that normal? Instead of a confident reply, all that left my mouth was a quiet, "Yes?"

Kei pinched the bridge of her nose, smile turning upside down in an instant. "Yeah, I don't buy that."

Otoha made a soft roar noise in the back of their throat, shaking their head in agreement.

"Ahahaha… sorry~?" My voice cracked. Lovely.

Between her fingers, Kei was giving me an unimpressed stare. "Y'know wha?" She offered me her free hand. "Tomo, you need a break. From the cafe _and_ piano. You're looking like today's been a wash, and the day's not over yet, so you need _sunlight_."

Eh?

"Come hang out with us!" Otoha added with a flap of their hands, facial expression brightening significantly with the gesture. "We'd be happy to have you, To-To!"

Mama's happy and approving smile behind the two ninja nearby was nice enough, but…

Wait a minute. These two ninja were wearing almost full ninja gear. Green flak jackets, hitai-ites and all.

 **They weren't going out on a mission now, were they?** Hisako mumbled, hiding a dry snort with, **Because I swear they weren't.**

"Before I agree," I interjected as quietly and politely as I could while raising a hand to slowly reach out towards Kei's, because I didn't want to jump to _any_ conclusions with my apparent anxiety. "What do you two have in mind? Without the piano, I'm kinda…a sitting duck?"

A short pause followed, almost to the tone of a single beat.

"…If by 'sitting duck,' you mean you're going to _relax_ , then sure," Kei deadpanned, before reaching over and closing the space by grabbing my outstretched hand, pulling me up to stand from the piano bench. "And Tomo, you don't have to put yourself down. You work long hours here and you _need_ a break."

"Even if you _like_ doing the work," Otoha added before I could interrupt with any personal opinion, "you need to take better care of yourself, To-To. Sleeping out on the piano is no good."

The sayings were honest and, quite frankly, true, but I still found my face flooding with embarrassed heat. It felt like Leo and Josh were calling me out on being a workaholic all over again. But, considering my work…

I turned the question to my other self. _Am I really that bad?_

Hisako merely gestured at the multitude of memories floating around the library with a raised eyebrow. Not all of them were sealed shut in their book covers. **Please count off the number of "What The Hell" talks Vy received in the last few years, dear. Go ahead and do that.**

 _Darn._ "I-I'll improve?"

Kei huffed and tugged me along by the hand so that we would be walking off the stage and towards the swinging red doors that were both the entrance and exit to Nagareboshi Cafe. I could tell by the gesture that she wasn't all that happy by my answer, but settled for it anyways. "You better, Tomo. Lots of people worry about you."

An extra tight tug on my hand for extra emphasis, and I kept my eyes on my sandals to try hiding some of the ashamed heat. "I-I'm sorry."

Kei huffed again through her nose as she used her free hand to push the doors open. "We're heading out now, Judai-jichan, Hikari-bachan!"

"You kids stay safe out there!" Papa called after us.

"Be sure to be back before dinner!" Mama added loudly.

"Got that," Kei finished with a wave of her free hand. I waved back to Mama and Papa with what could only be called a sheepish smile before letting myself be tugged away from home by my reincarnation buddies.

Once my sandals hit the sand of Konoha's paved roads, I tried to not let my feet drag, and even with my best attempts, someone was sure to notice. Otoha let out a soft reassuring dinosaur trill at my right side, a hand patting my shoulder all the while. "To-To, it's okay," was the quiet stage-whisper, and I glanced at them as soon as they closed their eyes and grinned at me again. "Kei-Kei's a worrywart. She's always been a worrywart."

"Hey." I found myself jumping. Kei swiveled her head to give Otoha a crooked smile. "I _heard_ that."

"Don't care!" Otoha hummed loudly.

Kei turned her head back to face the road and sighed. She still hadn't let go of my hand the entire walk through the shopping district, and we were starting to hit some grass, so I glanced at it. The grip was tight, but warm. Out of curiosity, the question was already leaving my lips. "Um, Kei?"

A few seconds, then she grunted a small, "Hm?", just as Otoha stood to attention with a small dinosaur squawk.

**That's good enough.**

I nodded to myself to agree with my Nobody before saying the words. "What do you and Kuroha-san really have in mind? I know you two said that you're fine with me not having my piano or keyboard, so wha—"

You're wondering why I stopped?

Well, there really wasn't anything to do _but_ stop talking when your friend stops tugging on your hand to stop walking, and you proceed to bump your head into her back. Bulky flak jacket and all. Otoha yelped in time with my own squeak of pain, and I pulled back almost immediately to rub my head. "Ow… K-Kei?"

My first reincarnation buddy let go of my hand to turn around, fully this time, so that she could grin at me. The clear background of Training Ground Three behind her shoulders was unmistakable. Uh, what? "How do you feel about supervising again?"

"…Eh?"

 **For fresh air, I don't think** _ **this**_ **was what we were really expecting.** Hisako said in my place. Then: **Does the ninja world have bikes? I feel like that'd be better.**

 _Hisako._ Outwardly, I said, "Sure?" Because it had been _years_ since the last time I was allowed to look over Team Minato's progress, and well, even if Kakashi, Obito, and Rin were elsewhere doing their own training or something, I wasn't going to let this chance go.

Maybe I needed to get my heart checked, because I loved these ninja way too much and it was hard to say "no" to them when _they_ offered something for once. Then again, it was Kei and Otoha. So there was that.

* * *

To no one's surprise, Kuroha-san was the first one to poke a hole in the plan, once we were all standing in the center of the Training Ground. Coincidentally, near the same three wood stumps where the Canon Team 7 had their first Bell Test. "Kei-Kei, you're a Special Jounin. I'm Chunin and an ANBU agent. If we spar _here_ with some of our arsenal, don't we risk To-To getting swept up in the backlash? Such as the elemental techniques?" They flapped a hand in the air out of protest, shaking their head all the while. "I do have Sealing Jutsu that's safe, but I don't want to show something that could possibly _scar_ her. We both saw her reaction to _Flesh Confetti._ "

At the name alone, a shiver went up my spine as I shook my head almost immediately. Nope, nope, _nope_.

Kei raised a pointer finger, opened her mouth, paused, then closed it. "…Fair point," Kei conceded, before glancing at me. Otoha turned to me too, and out of habit, I raised my hands in the air.

"Well, as long as no one tries to kill anyone and everything is safe, I'll be okay?" And yes, my voice cracked again. Technically, my voice went up a few pitches, but to everyone else, it probably sounded like I started taking some helium pills. If those existed. "I mean, the training is up to you two, I'm just supposed to watch. Or, uh, referee?"

Kei and Otoha exchanged a glance. Then they turned back to me with equally blank stares. Well, Otoha wasn't looking _directly_ at me considering they didn't like full eye-contact, but their visage was still something similar to Kei's unimpressed face.

"I-I mean, I'm a simple person, you two! You didn't have to invite me, and I'm glad you did, just do…" I tried not to rock back and forth in place, shrugging with a sheepish smile. "Just do whatever and ignore me?"

Kei's expression was turning more and more exasperated by the second. "Tomo. What did I just say when we left the Cafe? No putting yourself down."

Meep.

**You need to work on that.**

_I do._

"But good job on the Road Runner impression, To-To!" Otoha added instead in a cheery voice, and I jolted, feeling the heat all over again. "Really good!"

"I-I said it, didn't I."

"Yep," Kei added dryly. "Meep meep."

"Ugh."

Then Kei glanced up at the sky and bopped her right fist into her left palm. "Idea."

"By all means, Kei-Kei, go for it," Otoha finished, voice more deadpan now.

I blinked as soon as Kei took a few steps closer towards me, her expression now more apologetic. "Tomo, you don't mind trees, right?"

"I don't mind, just note I can't climb them, so why—" my words were cut off as soon as my _sandals_ weren't on the grass anymore and instead left hanging in the air. I was still looking up at Kei, so what happened—

"Welp, best view is from up high, right?" was all Kei had to joke on the matter before we were _soaring_ through the air, and I could've sworn I shrieked at the environment change. At least, a little. I tried to tone it down because Otoha was still around, but _what the heck_. Hanging out, back in the old world, did _not_ call for sudden transportation by _jump_.

"K-Kei?!" From the fear and what have you at being _princess-carried_ while in the air, I wound my arms around her neck for dear life. "What are you doing—!"

"Carrying you to a safer place!" she mused, not even bothered by the wind blowing in her face until the sun practically disappeared behind the leaves, and once my stomach stopped flipping around, it registered that we were in the branches of a tree. Scratchy leaves, very coarse bark, and all. Yep. An actual _tree_. Kei glanced around while putting me down on a stable base branch near the trunk, pausing. "Give me a minute…" she unsheathed her sword. "There should be some dead branches—"

"Don't slash where you don't need to, Kei-Kei!" Otoha called out, and my heart leapt up in my chest when it registered in my head that they were _at the foot of the tree_. I glanced down at my skirt, tugging at it, and a sigh left me once my skin noticed the shorts. Thank goodness I didn't forget those.

"Got it!" was Kei's quick reply, and a single SLASH was all she needed.

Tree branches naturally fell down to what I was assuming was Otoha's feet as Kei resheathed her sword, grinning softly at me. The sunlight was coming in through the opening she made in the foliage, illuminating her figure all the while. "Better view, right, Tomo?"

"Uh," was my intelligent reply, because really, going from a nap on the piano to _sitting_ up in a tree that was just _trimmed_ by what looked like a smaller version of Miyako-bachan's Mountain Cutter was not something I expected in my everyday agenda at the cafe. "Sure?" Then, my mind had to go to, "I-It _is_ safe up here, right?"

"As safe as you can be," Kei said confidently, and all sense of complaining left my throat once she grinned. That absolute _dork_. She planned this! "Otoha and I'll just test some things, and you can watch and relax all you want, Tomo." Her grin turned soft and warm in my direction, and for once, I didn't know what to make of it. In any other situation, I wanted to protest, but, when was the last time Kei looked _that_ confident? The Chunin Exams? "Just relax, Tomo. We got this. Holler if you want down. We're here, Otoha and I, whenever you need us."

As a last reminder, she reached over and squeezed my limp right hand before jumping down.

 **Dork,** Hisako filled in quietly, proud smile on her face.

"Dork… There's no way I wouldn't call out for you two…" was my soft resigned whisper hidden amongst the leaves, long after Kei left to rejoin our ANBU enby back on Ground Earth. "You absolute doof."

And with nothing else to do, I glanced out from my new vantage point, adjusting my sitting position so that it was a bit more comfortable and less slouched. "Kei? Otoha? You two won't do anything reckless, right?"

"Nope!"

A soft dinosaur trill, loud as day from the ground. "We'll be fine, To-To!"

I glanced down from amongst the leaves to see my friends take on fighting stances. Kei's, I recognized, just from studying kenjutsu with her, at least on a lesser scale. Otoha's, I wasn't sure, and the _tessen_ fan in their hands already had me blinking. There were smaller fans than _Temari_ 's in the Narutoverse? Oooh.

"So, Tomo?" Kei turned her head up, and she was still grinning. "Feel like counting us off?"

"Don't mind!" Otoha added.

These _dorks_. I was stuck in a tree, being the closest to the nature I always loved, and about to watch my reincarnation buddies spar without any trouble. It was, strange enough, ideal. Peaceful, even.

 **And a good break!** Hisako added.

 _Yep._ Outwardly, I nodded, pushing some stray leaves back to raise my fingers. "Three! Two!"

Otoha readied their fan. "No hard feelings, Kei-Kei!"

"Same here!"

I folded my pointer finger down into my palm. "One! GO!"

As expected, Kei lunged first, and wind blew.

* * *

A few minutes into the spar, and _water_ was already spilling out into the grass. Kei had apparently pulled out what looked like a Water Clone, which Otoha was combatting with no trouble thanks to what looked like techniques such as _Razor Wind_ and other assorted Wind things.

What? Sue me for being a civvie and not remembering jutsu names.

I was hoping I wouldn't see something like _Flesh Confetti_ , but what really caught my eye was the glows.

Now, I'm not referring to the glows of weapons, since Kei's katana and Kuroha-san's iron tessen fan shined enough in the sunlight. It was the glow of their eyes. Even from up in the trees, they were focused, determined, and in a way…

 **Scary?** Hisako suggested. **Horrifying?**

 _Surprising_ was the better word. It was easy to forget they were ninja who knew how to _kill_ with their warm smiles and hugs.

"…I'm glad I'm friends with you two, because you two are _really_ scary when you fight. I don't want to get on your bad sides period. Or get killed by you," was my quiet musing amongst the leaves. It was hard to voice aloud, and I had no plans of saying it aloud to them. I didn't want them to distrust me or anything. Or worry about me. They had enough on their plates.

I was not expecting Kei's back to hit the tree trunk I was sitting on in the next consecutive moment, specifically the bottom part not shown by the leaves. Or for the fighting noises to stop and a voice to call out. "You say something, Tomo?"

Heat was flooding my face again. Of course she'd notice something, what with her being a _sensor_. "N-Nothing!" My voice wasn't helping with the usual embarrassed crack.

"You sure?" Kei was sounding worried now. And I could've sworn I heard a small velociraptor cry of concern nearby, probably Otoha no doubt.

"I'm okay, really!" A giggle left me instead. Doof. One moment, I'm scared, and then they call out like that. They were still my friends in the end, ninja or not. "Just keep sparring!"

It felt okay. They weren't going to do something like kill me. Kei and Otoha were my best friends. There wasn't anything to worry about. Even in a tall tree, watching wind and water literally combat one another, it felt safe. That was enough.

"You better not be thinking about doing something reckless, Tomo!"

"I-I'm not, really!"

"You sure about that?" It was accentuated by a faraway velociraptor cry. Yep. Otoha wasn't believing me either. What was I, an _open book?_

"I'm _sure_! I swear!"

Even around the leaves, Kei and Otoha's stares were blatantly hard in my direction. Hah. They were still my doofs.

"Less focus on me, more on _sparring!_ Isn't this for you two!"

A clash of weapons followed. "Still, To-To! We're going for lunch after this!"

"How long have you been _planning_ this whole thing?"

"The past week!"

"KEI!"

"You need to get out more, Tomo!"

"Second that!"

Doofs. Both of them. And I wouldn't have them any other way.


	16. Rising Against a Shadow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by some late nights studying and a conversation I had with both Lang and Os on the matter. The theme this time is Rising from RWBY Volume 6, albeit the short version (at the time of this chapter coming out anyways, being 1/19/2019) since the full one isn't out yet. Lang and I have been following the show for a while, and well? My verdict for this chapter is that the song's fitting considering what our protagonists are up against.
> 
> Please enjoy. And also? Please thank Lang and Beta/Os for this chapter, because they sat and edited/wrote a lot with me on the doc for a long time as I tried to figure out what to do. With this not being a Tomo-centric chapter meant it needed the original CYB experts. Ninja politics are horrendous and I'm glad they stayed. — Vy

No matter how many times they put up the mask of loyal lab assistant, Otoha would never actually _be_ one. They didn't like Orochimaru, but they had to pretend. It was a given, because it was Orochi-fucking-maru _._ No matter what happened, no matter what he said, they had to keep up the cover. Because no one was safe around the Creepy Snake-Man.

In another lifetime, Kei was still scared shitless of him as the fucking _Tidal Blade_. And she wasn't even there yet in this one. She wasn't even a Tailed Beast host yet.

Now things were different. Kei was more vulnerable, Tomoko was here, and Otoha was determined to make it better. If not to make sure that they weren't disappeared, then at least to see those people happy.

Kei and Tomoko had made things better. Otoha could try to do the same because they were friends in a previous life.

Snake Man was going down. Maybe not in death just yet, because he was an Overpowered Asshat, but Otoha could at least limit what he could do before he was eventually run into the ground.

They would've liked to hope he wouldn't deviate from Canon, but life was never that simple, or easy. Even when it was just Kei, before Otoha and Tomoko showed up, it always became complicated.

Otoha focused on a slide under the microscope, jotting down notes when the snake spoke up. The soft squelching of his work could have masked his voice, but he was a _creepy snake_ , so Otoha heard him anyway. Even in real life, Orochimaru was still Edgelord Extraordinaire. "Hosssssshino Tomoko… what an interesssting civilian child to have such ex-sssspresssssive chakra, don't you think, Kuroki-kun?"

They'd expected this jab for a while. Since meeting Tomoko and Kei in this universe, Otoha knew it was only a matter of time before his attention turned that way. In canon, Orochimaru barely trusted anyone, having had the worst god complex in existence, and now, that hadn't changed.

They might have been creeped out in another circumstance, but instead it was mostly resigned, "Of course he did," because regardless of the universe, Orochimaru was a creep. And interrupting their work.

Expertly hiding their distaste and worry with calm disinterest, Otoha marked down another observation and said, "I guess?"

Which was, for the most part, true. They'd never actually paid much attention to Tomoko's chakra. It just hadn't been all that interesting when compared to everything else going on.

"Hm," Orochimaru mused, and another wet squelch followed. Even though it was commonplace for the snake man to mess with dead bodies, the sound was still gross _._ "Perhapssss we should visssit. Her father is a good friend of mine."

Now that last part was total bullshit. Otoha looked up from the microscope to close their notebook, and turned to face the creep. "Really?" they said, tone full of disbelief to call him on the blatant bullshit. And because they now had a question they wanted an answer to: _what the fuck are you playing at, Orochimaru?_ "Because the information I gathered from the records say otherwise."

They hadn't been particularly worried about Tomoko because her relationship with Kei and by extension Minato meant Orochimaru wouldn't be able to touch her. It was the reason Otoha had even gone to them in the first place. To get that protection once they had gained Orochimaru's attention. Otoha didn't have to mention knowing Tomoko and her family. Orochi-freaking-creep-maru should have already known they were friends. He should have known Otoha would know it wasn't true.

So, why the fuck was he even trying to _lie?_

If this was his attempt at picking at their brain, he would have to try harder.

The snan hummed, lowering his scalpel to glance over his new handiwork. "Oh, Judai didn't like me much. But he was interessssting." A small, "Tch," of his long tongue followed, accentuated by a small hiss and squelch as he raised a clean pick to go back to the body he was working on. "The way he fought, even after his loved one died… it was riveting." He paused before adding a quiet, "It's ssstill dissssappointing he married a sssssivilian woman."

Again, another two factoids Otoha already knew from the records. Tomoko's father never spoke about it personally, but the ninja records were easy to thumb through. Johan Anderson, Special Jounin, was his best friend and supposed first love. His name was permanently engraved in the Memorial Stone kept at Training Ground Three.

It wasn't like it was unusual for people to go into a rage when their loved ones died in battle. It was practically a trope in its own right. And breaking down afterwards? Well, that was almost cliché. As was finding a new reason to live in their children.

And enough shinobi married civilians that it wasn't seen as anything unusual, at least outside of the clans and their politics.

So, that left the question of why Orochimaru thought it was a shame. Aware they were expected to continue the conversation, Otoha shrugged and asked, "Why? Did you want to marry him?"

A single second was all it took for an unimpressed stare to be trained into their back. "I find it curious with how you assume I want to marry him, Kuroki-kun."

"You were the one who brought up marriage, Orochimaru-sensei," Otoha pointed out.

Orochimaru clicked his tongue again. "Hm," he said distastefully. "Nonetheless. Judai's gone ssssoft, retiring. His daughter, however…" there was a small smack as the snake man wet his lips with his long tongue. _Ugh._ "I would like to work with her at one point. Her chakra… ssso bright, ssso _alluring_ , how can that be? Was it because of her father?" He paused again and Otoha rolled their eyes. "Every living being has chakra, but that girl… so interesting. Communicating with no words… the amount of thingsss that could be done to influence the people around her, without her even _willing_ it…"

Otoha was familiar enough with Tomoko's chakra to mostly ignore it. It wasn't much of an influence, less like killing intent than it was a light bop of emotion. Although the possibility Tomoko's chakra had less of an influence on them than others had occurred to them. Besides, the knowledge that it likely had to do with Tomoko's reincarnation status had removed any curiosity on Otoha's part. There were some things, especially in the fucking Naruto Universe, that were just better left unquestioned, unexplored, and unexamined. Doing so was only asking for a headache.

But of course, those weren't things Otoha could tell creep master snord (snake lord). And they definitely were never going to let Tomoko know he was interested in her.

"Eh, genjutsu," Otoha answered with the verbal equivalent of an unimpressed shrug.

Orochimaru shook his head, hair batting against his bloody lab coat. "No. Not genjutsssu, Kuroki-kun. Almosssst… almost like puppet strings. Far more sssubtle, far more outreaching than any range I've seen for a ssssivilian." A hiss. "Could it be because of her blood? Or sssomething elsse…" He put down his newest bloodied scalpel. "I would like to meet her."

 _Fuck no,_ Otoha immediately thought. Instead, they focused on the newest set of microscope slides, adjusting the view with a small twist of the viewing dials. "You'd scare her," they said with all the inflection of a dented pan. "Also, I'm pretty sure she'd decline the invitation, Sensei." _Because you're a creep and she would want to see you go into a black hole and_ die _like the scum you are than even think of hanging out with you._

"Oh? But she is a sssivilian girl, Kuroki-kun." Orochimaru chuckled darkly while still focusing on the body in front of him. This guy was the worst. "She can be fooled by a mere… Transssformation." A BOMF of smoke later, and Otoha turned around in their chair to frown at the new feminine form Orochimaru had taken. Yep. Still a creep and an insult to trans and nonbinary people everywhere. "Perhapsss I should experiment more," the figure commented, before there was another cloud of smoke and the transformation was dispelled.

"And the whole killing intent factor?" Otoha pointed out, unimpressed. "What's your plain for that? Also, the lisp." _Because the lisp completely gives you away, Overpowered Asshole or not._

Another dark chuckle. "Basssic sssuppression is more than ssssufficient, Kuroki-kun. It is a sssivilian girl who is none the wiser." He paused before adding a quiet, "I am a member of the Ssssannin. Jiraiya did leave sssome trickssssssss."

He had to drag that last s out. Ugh.

Yeah, _no_. Not only was Orochimaru failing at picking at their brain, he was _failing_ when it came to gauging people. He failed in Canon with Sasuke and Itachi, and even here, he was _failing_ when it came to Tomoko. _How incompetent could he get?_

Also, taking notes from a pervert. Orochimaru was stooping that low? "Oh yes, learning tricks from the village pervert, how impressive." Otoha wanted out of this conversation. _Ugh._

Orochimaru clicked his tongue again while going over to the nearby incubator to take out the newest samples of the First Hokage's cells. "Even a pervert has their uses, Kuroki-kun."

They decided to go out on a limb. "As target practice?"

"As a pawn."

Otoha was still not impressed and shrugged. Classic Edgelord behavior. "What's so interesting about it anyway? Not like it has potential to bring people back to life." They paused while changing out the slide under the microscope to open their notebook and take more notes. "That's what we're doing here, right?"

Not that they could believe it. Eternal life wasn't worth it, even if reincarnation could happen.

"Oh?" Orochimaru turned around this time based on the sound of his sandals against the lab floor, snorting in disbelief. "Even if it iss not entirely beneficial to eternal life, Kuroki-kun, that kind of power would hold sssway in the Shinobi Nations far more than the Third and his naivety." This time, the hiss that came out of his mouth was hostile and foreboding. "To use a power like that, reaching out without the other's knowledge, just to influence their thinking towards your mindssset…" A click of his tongue. "It's breathtaking. Almost like the Sharingan I would like to have."

 _More like creepy as fuck. Ew._ Tomoko wouldn't be on board even if held at gunpoint. Her chakra tricks weren't even on purpose. Kei and Mama Gekkō could attest to that, considering how it was shown in that other story Vy wrote. "People aren't aware of it? Because I'm pretty sure it's noticeable." Tomoko's chakra was like the flicker of fluorescent lighting. It gave Otoha a headache with how much it permeated the background of their chakra sense.

Undeterred by Otoha's commentary, Orochimaru tapped his sandal against the lab floor. "How could a ssssivilian girl gain that kind of power all by herself? Perhapssss, with more resssearch, she could be more useful than the Uchiha who meddle far too much."

 _Ewwwww._ This was looking better and better. "She doesn't have the temperament for it. As you said, Sensei, she's a civilian," Otoha pointed out calmly.

"You underesssstimate the ninja, Kuroki-kun. Civilian or not, she can be trained." The snake man paused his foot tapping to hiss. "Danzō is interested too."

Otoha calmly wrote down another observation while exchanging out the current microscope slide. The creep didn't even have a _plan_ yet. How could he get even _more_ fucking incompetent? "You're overestimating a civilian, Orochimaru-sensei."

The snake clicked his tongue while walking over to Otoha's table, dropping the newest samples near their notebook. "I would like to think I'm giving credit to the parents who raised her." He paused before adding, "Be sure to look over these sslidessss as well, Kuroki-kun."

"Alright, sensei," Otoha said dutifully, shrugging again. "And you'd probably be better off crediting Gekkō Keisuke and Gekkō Miyako." It was the truth. Kei and Mama Gekkō definitely helped with Tomoko's chakra problem.

Mid-walk back to the center of the lab where the current cadaver was sitting, Orochimaru paused. "…Perhapssss," was the answer.

"Also, Sensei?" Otoha turned their chair slightly to pick up the first of the petri dishes labeled, "Hashirama's Cells," calmly taking a new clean slide from a nearby box to start depositing some sample. "You do realize she's friends with Namikaze Minato's students. Going anywhere near her would draw attention you may not want. Like, the Third's." Even if the dude was incompetent, they wanted to think he'd at least object to Orochimaru's less than ethical experiments.

There was no response, just another hiss.

Yep. Utterly incompetent. What a hack.

Otoha reached over to open a nearby drawer, glancing around before finding a Q-tip. "Your plan has holes, Orochimaru-sensei." _Too many holes._ Without skipping a beat, they uncapped the Petri dish to dip the Q-tip into the sample and deposit onto the new slide.

Another disgusting squelch of the cadaver followed. Otoha calmly reached over to pull out a small plastic cover for the sample slide just as Orochimaru said a strained, "I will reconsssider."

"Now that is a good idea." With a small piece of tape securing the plastic cover down, Otoha picked up the slide to deposit under the microscope lens, switching the light on to look through the scope. "Let me know when you figure something out. Until then, these samples need analyzing."

A tap of a sandal against the floor again, and Orochimaru huffed. "Go back to your work then, Kuroki-kun."

Otoha didn't need to be told twice.

* * *

Finding Kei was simple enough. At this point in time, she was a Chunin who was good with a sword. And with Nagareboshi's neon-lit sign, Otoha could guess where she'd be on the occasional break.

Opening the red doors of the entrance revealed the cafe as always, bustling with workers and the occasional ninja sitting down at the tables. Tomoko was on the center stage as usual, playing some kind of song on the piano Otoha didn't recognize, but it rang of something familiar. Kei's chakra flared close by, and looking past all the hired help showed her waving in Otoha's direction. She was sitting at a table near one of the windows. Made sense.

They held back a happy dinosaur noise to walk over, grinning instead. "Hey, Kei-Kei."

"Yo, Otoha," she said back, grinning. "What's up?"

The happy atmosphere was nice and all, but Otoha needed to get to the point. Creepy Snake Man needed to be dealt with. They took the seat right across from her, activating the nearest privacy seal on the table before saying it. "Orochimaru is interested in Tomoko, don't tell her." Another thought occurred, and they added, "Also, he's a total hack."

It took a single second for the color to drain from Kei's face. She looked out the window as her chakra shrunk in on itself from desperation and shock, shoulders tensing as the energy dimmed. Another second, and then Kei turned back to face them with a quiet, " _Fuck_." She took a breath. "Okay. What are we going to do about it."

"Nothing?"

Kei gave them a questioning look.

Otoha nodded. "I had to bring up the point that Tomoko is protected by you and the Hokage. He's just now getting to that problem."

Kei sighed, chin resting in the palm of her right hand. "Pretty sure he doesn't give a shit about me. And given the other timeline, he's pulled some things without taking the time to drop village politicians a note."

That was true, but Orochimaru was slimy. "No," they said, "pretty sure he thinks you're interesting too, but he's scared of Minato's influence."

Another sigh. Kei leaned back in her chair and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Risk assessment and also survival instincts are telling me to assume he'd do a kidnap. I don't put anything past that creep."

"Sounds about right," Otoha agreed. Then the thought occurred and they added, "I should probably mention Danzō's interested, too."

Kei was looking more disgusted by the second. "And if ROOT is anything to go by, our favorite creepy uncle doesn't care about the Hokage's wrath."

"Nope," Otoha agreed again, "but if they know we know, they may be less likely to make a move. After all, they don't want to be caught doing this." Orochimaru spilling things the way he did proved how dangerously overconfident he'd become. He was an unethical monster and ruthless at the best of times, but he still had power under the Third. Minato was their best bet for coming out of this alive.

"Credit to the powers that be for freaking out everyone else," Kei said dryly, "but some people just don't care. Worse, the same people have this weird tendency to be nigh-unkillable."

"The only question left now," Otoha said, "is whether Oro does all this without alerting me first." That was the main problem at hand. Even if they were pulling off the lab assistant role well, Orochimaru had his god complex for a reason. Kishimoto built him up as someone who got off on reading others to the point of emotional manipulation. Otoha couldn't disregard the possibility that he was already suspecting them of being a spy. They were already close to fire.

Kei leaned her chair back so that it was sitting on four legs again, lowering her hands to cross her arms instead. "Does he suspect you're not a loyal drone?" She paused with a thoughtful frown. "…Though, granted, he kinda let Kabuto do whatever because he knew Kabuto wasn't capable of actually killing him even in a betrayal…"

Once again, Kei had a point. Otoha interrupted the silence with an equally dry, "Unless I need to kinkshame him for getting his ass handed to him verbally, probably."

Now Kei was giving them the evil eye. "…What did you do."

"Roasted his ass," Otoha continued, this time in a fake cheery voice. "Out loud. To him."

A single beat, then Kei snorted, leaning back in her chair again while looking out the window. "I'm going to go gray before thirty. Again." She sighed. "Dang and blast it."

Otoha glanced at their own hair before shrugging. "Silver's a nice color." Their hair was still ash brown, but with the _fucking_ Naruto Universe and Orochi-creep-maru, who knew how long that would last. "I think my hair's already going gray."

Kei sighed loudly. "Kishimoto sucks."

"Agreed."

A small flare of fluorescent light chakra, and Otoha tried not to wince. "Kei? Kuroha-san?"

Even between lives, the high-pitched voice didn't change much, more so when speaking Japanese.

That explained the quiet of the cafe. For once, Tomoko wasn't at the piano. She was clutching a metal tray in her hands, head tilted in their direction as she smiled hesitantly. "Do you two need anything?" She paused, reaching up to rub her hair ribbon between her fingers before adding an equally unsure, "If I was interrupting, I can go."

"You're fine, Tomo," Kei said instead with a casual tone and a grin that gave Otoha enough time to rip the privacy seal off the table without Tomoko looking. "We were just about done talking."

"Oh." Tomoko was still playing with her hair ribbon as her chakra shrank in on itself, her smile turning into an uncertain frown. Her face was screaming curiosity. "If it's okay to ask, what were you two talking about?"

Her chakra shrank too as Kei turned to make eye contact. Otoha closed their eyes and shook their head. Tomoko didn't need to know. She couldn't know. Orochi-fucking-maru was bad enough, but Danzō too? The info would be the equivalent of a social bomb. With Tomoko's social anxiety, Otoha did not need another bad headache from the panic. Not that Tomoko wouldn't be justified in panicking, but the less stress, the better.

"Ninja things," Otoha put in instead, making their usual comforting dinosaur hum to hopefully deter Tomoko off the subject. "Ninja things, To-To."

The girl blinked. "Oh."

"Confidential information," Kei finished. "Don't worry about it, Tomo."

" _Oh_ ," she said again. Otoha was not surprised at Tomoko's chakra shrinking again, what with her eyebrows furrowed in clear discomfort. Any suspicion she had wasn't said aloud, expressed in other tells that were obvious. The white knuckles of her hands as she clutched the tray, the small quiver of the corner of her lips. "I see," she said finally, and her voice cracked.

Kei and Otoha shared a glance. There was that thin ice, _again_. "Tomo-chan?" Kei tried this time, softer.

Tomoko shook her head, muttering what sounded like, " _Don't worry, my butt,"_ before taking a breath. She then raised her head, showing an honest, shakier smile. "Kei, Kuroha-san. C-Could I hug you both? Please?" Her chakra shuddered with the question.

Kei's chakra flared in understanding just as she put on a softer smile. "Sure. What about you, Otoha?"

"Sure," Otoha said calmly, "but after lunch, we're going to kick your ass into shape." They pulled out a tessen to flip open. _Swsh, swsh._

Tomoko's expression immediately morphed from relief to horror, blue eyes wide enough to show a bare reflection of the tessen in Otoha's hands. "E-Eh? What brought this on?!" She inhaled sharply, then added a high-pitched, "I thought we were just hanging out today, not training!"

"You need to learn how to expect the unexpected, Tomo." Kei waggled a finger in her direction, eyebrows furrowed on her forehead. "And there's nothing wrong with improving your endurance. Kakashi's a dick about that enough already."

"Also," Otoha added, stimming with the tessen by opening and closing it for the sake of focusing on that and not the mess Tomoko's chakra was currently making, "you don't carry a bokken with you, so your kenjutsu practice isn't terribly useful in self-defense." With one last flick of the wrist, Otoha held up the open tessen for Tomoko to take a good look at. "This you can."

An embarrassed pink bloomed on Tomoko's cheeks as she ducked her head once more. " _M-Muuuuu,"_ was the noise, and her chakra flickered before expanding to convey her resigned demeanor. "I-I should've expected that." She clutched the tray to her chest, swaying back and forth on her sandals enough to rustle the lace of her kimono sleeves. "I was trying to do something cheesy, but really, what am I supposed to say in the face of that…?"

"Just go with it?" Kei offered.

The pink quickly turned into an indignant red as Tomoko puffed her cheeks out, frowning. "Th-That was a rhetorical question, Kei! Jeez." She shook her head, still pouting. "What can someone do to not be read so easily?"

"Control your chakra, facial expressions, and body language," Otoha finished in a matter-of-fact tone. "You make it too easy, To-To." And that was the truth.

The red started spreading to what Otoha could see of the civilian's ears as another protesting, " _Muuuuuuuu!"_ echoed in the room. Cute. A pause, and then Tomoko looked up through her bangs to give Kei and Otoha the evil eye. At least, as much of an evil eye as she could get. Because emotional honesty could only go so far. "…You two are dorks," she said finally in a tired voice. "How did I end up with you?"

"Botched reincarnation," Kei said immediately.

Otoha paused before echoing, "Botched reincarnation," as an answer too.

Tomoko was still pouting. Her chakra flared this time, unhappy. "You didn't have to answer that!" Her voice was an upset squeak now as she shook her head and hastily put away the tray onto a nearby empty table. "Just, just let me hug you two, okay? Before I want to tackle you both and shake you for being dorks."

Kei was already opening her arms. "Hit me."

Otoha glanced at her, blinking before closing the tessen in one hand and opening their arms with more hesitance. "No tackles, please."

Tomoko's chakra flared again, a little brighter before she walked over and wrapped her arms around their shoulders. The grip was soft and not too tight. "You dorks," she muttered, shaking her head. "You absolute, ridiculous, _lovable_ dorks."

Otoha reached over with their free hand to pat Tomoko's shoulders. The question her chakra was asking was one that was already answered. "We're still staying, To-To. We're not leaving."

"Second that," Kei added immediately. "Really, Tomo. You don't have to worry."

This time, Otoha could clearly hear a disbelieving mumble of, " _I don't know about that,"_ before Tomoko pulled away from the hug, blue eyes misty. "You two are the ninja, and I'm here in the cafe, not able to see you two every day. And, and, with how the Narutoverse is…" her lip quivered before Tomoko went back to initiating the hug all over again, squeezing. "I worry, okay? I'll _always_ worry. About you, about the world, about everything." She tightened the hug, shoulders tense. Otoha couldn't help but feel like a plush toy with the grip. "You two are my best friends in this whole entire world. I can't help it."

Kei took a deep breath to reach over and rub Tomoko's back. "You don't have to, Tomo. You can save that part for when things really go to shit."

A dry laugh sounded in Otoha's ear as Tomoko pulled away for real this time, shaking her head firmly. "I'm a worrywart. And the workaholic. That hasn't changed between lives. You'd have to do _something_ drastic if you want to change that."

"Hey, _you're_ the civilian, Tomo," Otoha pointed out with a shrug. "We can take care of ourselves."

From sensing alone, they already knew Kei was giving them a questioning side eye.

Another chakra flare, and Tomoko was frowning. She wasn't buying it either. "The day I believe _that_ is the day all war goes to a peaceful end without some creeps living past their expiration date and the ninja system is completely abolished."

Ouch. Heavy much.

" _Ow_ , Tomo," Kei said, dramatically clutching the front of her jacket. "That hurts. No faith?"

Tomoko's voice lowered accordingly with the amount of exasperation her chakra was emitting. This was probably the first time she had gotten close to anything resembling anger. "Again, I'm a worrywart. And it takes a dork to know a dork, _dork_." She then turned to face Otoha, adding an equally unimpressed, "Your being Creepy Snake Guy's _lab assistant_ does nothing to help your case, Kuroha-san. And I don't want to start arguing with you about my worries, because they're a fundamental part of me and I'd rather be training under you than arguing."

"Don't forget I'm also in ANBU," Otoha said instead, and the amount of side eye Kei was giving them exponentially increased.

Tomoko's frown deepened even further as she crossed her arms, tapping her sandal once against the tile floor. "And your point is?"

"I can kick your ass."

"And I'm a civilian girl that Orochimaru and any other Canon Villain can easily _kill_ without a second thought, Kuroha-san," Tomoko deadpanned. Her voice had gone completely dry now. "That doesn't say much."

If not for the specific wording of the comeback, Otoha could have taken it. But the ramifications of the previous conversation were still present, and they carefully hid a wince. Otoha noted how Kei reacted in a similar way with her chakra flickering. It was somewhat reassuring to know she felt the same. "Okay," they said slowly. "You win then, To-To."

"I'm not exactly _happy_ about that," Tomoko concluded in the same miffed tone, eyebrow raised. She shook her head, hair batting her cheeks, before sighing again. "Enough of me being the downer. You two are still customers at the cafe and my best friends. So." Tomoko smiled softly, a happier pink coloring her face. "Do you want mochi? I can go get some for you two now for lunch." She paused as her chakra flickered, hesitant all over again as she tugged at the hem of one of her kimono sleeves. "Or dessert. Or something. Before you come up with some kind of Spartan training routine for me."

Otoha felt a smile coming over their face too as they nodded. She didn't notice. Good. "Strawberry mochi for me then, To-To."

Kei's side eye went away too as she raised a hand. "Red bean over here, Tomo."

Tomoko put a hand to her mouth as she giggled. "Okay, okay, strawberry for Kuroha-san and red bean for Kei." Without skipping a beat, she pulled out a small notepad with her free hand, jotting the orders down before bowing her head towards them. "I'll be back in a bit with your sweets." Otoha watched as Tomoko ran over to the doors leading to the kitchen, pushing them open. Before disappearing behind their swinging frames, Tomoko turned her head back towards them, with one last smile and warm wave in their direction. " _See you soon,"_ was her mouthed reply, and then she was gone.

Once Tomoko had left, Kei exhaled slowly and closed her eyes, leaning back against her chair. Her smile from before crumpled into a solemn look as she sighed. "We're going to have to do a _lot_ if it means she doesn't get caught up in this bullshitty mess."

Otoha nodded almost immediately, a determined noise leaving their throat. "I'm not sure how much Oro and Danzō are planning, but it won't be good. We'll keep her out of it."

Kei opened one eye to smile in Otoha's direction, hand reaching over to place a new privacy seal. Temporary, but it worked. "You better be safe too, Os. Take care of yourself too."

Heh. Even in a world that was originally a story, Kei was still Lang-Lang. She still cared. Otoha ducked their head, grinning wryly. "I'll do my best," they said.

They had a long way to go. It was time to get down to business. Training would be first. Second would be gaining protection. The creeps hadn't done anything yet, but they could move soon. And Otoha would be damned to let them run free.

Kei, Tomoko, and Otoha were all friends. And Otoha would never let them get hurt.


	17. Memory in the Rain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theme for this drabble-turned chapter is All That Matters from RWBY Volume 5. Because one YouTube AMV convinced me that it fit the mood of this chapter.
> 
> Dedicated to Lang and Beta/Os, as always. Thank you, you two. —Vy

_Pitter, patter, pitter, patter_.

The rain gently beat against the roof of the patio that covered Nagareboshi Cafe’s entrance. With such dreary weather, the nearby ground was soaked to the point of sand becoming mud, and I was already wary of where I was stepping in spite of standing in front of the familiar red doors of my home.

 _“Haaaaah,”_ was the soft noise that left my lips. The breath that left me had fogged up in the cold, and my hands were already clutching my red hoodie closer to myself as the small cloud dissipated with the next breeze. Even with the red cape shrouding my shoulders, my hands felt cold. “Brrrr.”

 **Dear,** Hisako patted my head softly. **Why aren’t you going inside? You’ll catch a cold if you stay out here too long.**

Instead of responding, I exhaled again. The new carbon dioxide cloud dissipated like the one before it, not even visible against the background of the dark clouds and falling rain. _Just thinking, Hisako. I’ll go back inside soon._

Today would mark almost two decades. Since that day.

My Nobody gave me a small raised eyebrow, blinking. **Are you sure** **—** The memory then hit her. Almost literally, with the book in question zooming out to nearly clonk her in the head. **What the fiddlesticks?** Her glasses fell lopsided on her nose before she grabbed the troublemaker novel out of the air to glance over it. **This —** **_oh._ ** I wasn’t surprised to feel Hisako mentally hug me. **I’m sorry for prodding. It’s okay, honey, it’s okay.**

I took a breath of the cold rain air, and nodded to myself. _I know. I’m… I’m trying to believe that._

My name wasn’t Vy anymore, but the memory of Vy still remained.

Hisako puffed a breath, a bit of frustration in the noise before her voice went down to the softness I remembered from our first meeting. **It** **_will_ ** **be. You’re not alone, Tomoko-chan.** A triumphant smile was on her face. **You’ll** **_never_ ** **be alone.**

_Pitter, patter, pitter, patter — splash._

Wait. _Splash ?_

Past the cover of my red hoodie, I glanced around. What was—

“Hey, Tomo.”

My heart leapt out of my chest and I could vaguely hear myself squeak loudly. Looking in that direction made me make eye-contact with — with _black_ eyes.

Kei grinned, raising a hand to wave in spite of her soaked white-blue hoodie. “Yo.”

 **There she is.** Hisako smiled softly.

“Kei…?” my voice felt like sawdust in my mouth. “What are you doing here? It’s raining…”

She shoved her hands into her jacket pockets, black hair messy even under the hoodie she was wearing. She was soaked from shoulder up, but her eyes were focused, determined. The massive grin on her face was unmistakable. “Inertia.”

“Inertia…?”

“Inertia. And seeing my best civilian friend.” I never thought I could see someone smile so _brightly_ , even in the rain. “Is that so wrong?”

“N-No,” was my reply, and a second was all it took for me to realize that a smile was blooming on my face. “You came all this way, even when it’s pouring?”

Kei shrugged, taking a few steps forward. The footsteps themselves were accentuated by the splashes of puddles, and it didn’t take long for her to stand with me, under the patio. “Ninja, Tomo,” she said quietly, and once a small weight landed on top of my hoodie, I tried not to wince at the bit of wetness coming through the fabric. Was it— “And besides, today’s different, isn’t it?”

Of course she knew.

 **You make it obvious, dear.** Hisako was still smiling. **I told you, didn’t I?**

I took another breath and exhaled, watching the small air cloud dissipate like its predecessors again. “Yeah. It is.”

The hand on top of my hoodie paused before gently patting my head, careful of flying water droplets. “Want me to stay with you? Or distract you?”

A shiver went up my spine, and a sniffle escaped me first. My hands were shaky, but they could still pull on my hoodie to hide my face. “Just… just stay, Kei. Please.”

_It’s always you, huh. Someone always finds me…_

The hand on my head lifted itself off to instead rest on my shoulders, and the familiar sensation of tears pricked at my eyes. “Sure. As long as you want. I’m here.” Kei paused before pulling me into a side-hug. “Otoha’s around too. We got you, Tomo. You’re okay.”

“Mm… mm…”

_They always find me first._

I didn’t have to look up to know that someone else was watching us too. Was keeping company too.

“Thank you, Kei… Thank you, Kuroha-san.”

In the cold, in the rain, the air was fresh, and old memories washed away in favor of leaving a single white feather behind on a nearby chair.

_Friends… huh._

_I’m glad they’re here._

_The rain feels warm for once._


	18. A Jumping Resolution

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Otoha’s “2nd” reaction, per say, to what happened in the previous chapter. Written by Os. Because there was a bit of a misunderstanding that came about from the vagueness around Tomoko’s mourning, and I wasn’t able to address it originally with Os from social exhaustion on my part. More will be said in the next chapter, I’ll just leave this here for those of you not following the story on Tumblr. — Vy

Tomoko stood in front of the cafe in the rain, clearly upset and deep in thought. At least she was underneath the awning and not getting drenched. The last thing she needed was to be soaking wet in the cold and catch a cold.

“Owl,” the voice crackled across the speaker in my ear.

“What?” I asked back.

“You’re making noises again.”

_ Agh. _

Another sigh over the earpiece.

The mic on the choker was a good setup for allowing ANBU to remain stealthy and continue to communicate, but it was really inconvenient when it picked up every sound I made.

“Captain.”

“Let it go, Fox.”

Tomoko really needed to learn to mask her chakra. The unease was palpable enough that I had picked up on it from a few blocks over. While on a mission. That I was still meant to be on. But I couldn’t leave her alone, not like this.

“Owl.” It was a gentle reminder that I was making noise, but it brought my attention back to the mission at hand. That I couldn’t perch atop the powerpole indefinitely.

And, right on time, there was Kei. Startling Tomoko. We really needed to step up her training. But that could wait. Tomoko needed kindness, not, well, ninja. And right now that’s all I was. ANBU Operative Owl.

At least Kei was there. And I could be there too, maybe, in a way. Pulling a feather out of my pocket, I left it on a chair and continued on the mission.

The next morning brought a sunny blue sky and a bright sun that occasionally disappeared behind the remnants of yesterday’s storm. Dressed in shorts and a tank-top, I appeared at Kei’s window and knocked.

At least I was exempt from the security seals because otherwise that probably would have knocked me on my ass.

“Hi, Otoha,” Kei said, opening the window to let me in. “What’s up?”

I went straight to her dresser and pulled out a pair of shorts and a tank-top before I tossed them at her. “Get dressed.”

“Mind telling me why?”

“Top Secret, Kei-Kei.”

And with that I headed out into the hallway to say hello to the rest of her family. As soon as Kei arrived in the kitchen, I said goodbye, grabbed her hand, and ran out of the house with Kei in tow.

She caught on quick enough that we were headed for Tomo’s place. And, true to form, Tomoko was already awake and hard at work.

Knock knock.

“ _ Whaaaaaaa _ !” Tomoko jumped, legs kicking out and chair falling backwards along with her.

Kei chuckled softly behind me. I waved.

Letting out another surprised and distressed — embarrassed — wail, Tomoko scrambled to her feet and opened the door, saying in a single breath, “Hiyoutwowhatareyoudoinghere?”

While I slipped in and started rummaging through Tomoko’s closet for clothes and her rainboots, Kei shrugged and said, “Ask Otoha.”

“Uh, Otoha?”

“Yeah, To-To?”

“Why are you going through my stuff?”

“Top-Secret Mission.”

Her exercise shorts were easy to find, as was a t-shirt that would work. But her rainboots. Hmmm. Maybe they were by the front. It had been raining.

“Put these on,” I said, piling the clothes in her hands before I ran out of the room and down to where her shoes were kept.

…and they weren’t there. Hmmm.

I returned to the room and Tomoko emerged from her closet, dressed. “So, uh, Otoha, you mind telling me what’s going on?”

“Not yet.” No ghillies in sight. Hmmm. “To-To, where are your rainboots?”

Tomoko paused for a second, deep in thought then let out a loud  _ whaaaaaaa _ and ran out of the room shouting about having left the hose uncoiled.

“Outside?” Kei guessed.

It was a good guess. Kei followed Tomoko out through the hall. I just went through the window.

Once we were all gathered at the back door and Tomoko had stomped the rainboots onto her feet, she asked, “Ok,  **now** will you tell me what’s going on?”

“It rained last night,” I told them with a wide grin. Bouncing on my toes I added, “We’re going puddle jumping.”


	19. Unsaid Regrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooooo yeah. Uh. TW for Suicide. Call or text a hotline if you need someone to talk to or stuff.  
> Anyway. Uh. Sorry everything I write is SUPER angsty/sad/depressing. But yeah, here’s one of the reasons Otoha avoided (and continues to avoid) Tomoko and Kei. So yeah. — Os  
> \-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
> If Os’s archived message from Tumblr wasn’t enough, this was Otoha’s original reaction to the events in Chapter 17. Os wrote under the assumption that Tomoko was having a trauma anniversary, or trauma-versary over her past death, but I have to come in and say this now. Tomoko wasn’t thinking about Vy’s death. She was actually thinking of an incident that was referenced originally in CP 21 and S&S 13, and for those of you who don’t want to go back there, to put it into simple words?   
> Implied Sexual Assault.   
> Simple as that. I’m not going into that more unless prompted otherwise. It is a very personal memory to me, and asking anymore will automatically make me assume you want to invade privacy.   
> I’m only putting this up to share Os’s writing, properly archive it, and provide some insight into some of Otoha’s motivations that weren’t hinted at in previous chapters. So there. — Vy

Tomoko stood outside the cafe, glaring into the rain and the night despite the cold. It was one thing for a shinobi to remain standing sentry in a chilly storm, but Tomoko wasn’t one and never could be.

I rocked side to side on my feet as I crouched on top of a telephone pole, the movement helping me puzzle through my thoughts.

Was she looking for me?

It was late and she usually only expected to find me perched outside the cafe on clear days. Or at least she only gave an indication of it then. “You’re really lucky you have us,” I muttered as Kei walked up the street, the splash of her foot in a puddle startling Tomoko.

Tomoko’s ability to sense other people was about as bad as her ability to influence others was good. Meaning it fucking suuuuuuucked.

Still, she relaxed a bit with Kei around. Which was good. Today wasn’t a day that To-To needed to be alone. And after a quick moment of bright relief at Kei arriving, Tomoko’s mood dropped again.

She carried so much guilt over dying. Something that wasn’t even her fault. I plopped down on the pillar, one foot pressed against my thigh, hand on my knee, and chin on my hand, and my other leg dangling. Tomoko felt so guilty over the pain she had caused everyone else by dying, like she had failed them somehow.

It had been clear in the words that had been written in the fanfics I read before. And it was clear from the way she talked about it now, when everything was real.

Did Kei feel the same way? The topic had never really been touched upon in her story, and it wasn’t something I had ever asked about in the past.

I guess I knew deep down though why.

Because nobody wanted to think about the consequences of Lang dying, of how Kei ended up being Kei.

Sighing, I let out a noise from the back of my throat and watched Kei poke and prod Tomo in an effort to bring out a smile from the rain cloud that hovered around Tomoko’s head.

Neither of them had died willingly, and they clung to the past versions of themselves, like the break was incomplete because they hadn’t really said goodbye. They’d been torn from the worlds they’d loved to become who they were now.

And how was I to navigate that?

How was I to confront the pain I’d caused in one reality, one timeline when they existed on paper and their pasts were still alive…

And I’d…

I’d always thought we just stopped existing when we died. That everything we were just faded into stardust. No more pain. No more existence. Maybe because my life had been categorized by extremes of existence, the opposite, the idea of nothing was appealing and more comforting than any concept of souls and eternal life.

I rubbed away the feel of tears from my eyes. The rain had drenched me within minutes and nobody could see me, but the gesture was more emotional than anything.

I’d avoided them when I came back. Unable to say goodbye the last time, and unable to say hello the first time because of the same damn guilt that ate at my stomach.

They’d hate me if they knew the truth.

And how could I say anything?

How could I face them when the reason for my existence in this world spit in the faces of their heartbroken apologies for dying when they had never made that choice.

They remained outside though, eyes scanning the rooftops from beneath the awning on the cafe. Tomoko needed to go inside or she was likely to catch a cold, but she remained outside because of me.

She wasn’t going to go inside until I gave her a sign. Pulling the chakra back out from that tiny spot inside my core it found when I shrank from existence, I sent it to my feet and the air around me.

Kei’s more perceptive glance found me almost immediately, likely due to the sudden spark of chakra, but she just pulled Tomoko into a hug and said I was nearby.

“Thank you, Kuroha-san,” Tomoko said without looking up.

Yeah, that hurt. I didn’t deserve it. I couldn’t face her.

But Tomoko deserved to know she wasn’t alone.

So I left a feather on a chair and disappeared again.


	20. Baking with a Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The theme this time is Theister’s piano cover of Spice from Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma. And, why was this created, you ask? Fluff was well overdue on my part and something I felt like I needed to deliver. In its purest, un-angst-tainted form. Especially after Chapter 19’s cultivation on Os’s part in the past. So, this is dedicated to Os. — Vy

_ Chip. _

Breaking a chocolate bar in my hands over a large pan to try making a crumble of chocolate chips. It helped save on spending funds.

_ Syrup. _

Beating the eggs with the sugar to make a thick custard, before adding in the butter.

_ Whip! _

Turning on the hand mixer so that all the ingredients could be evenly mixed together.

Another day off, this time baking. Kei was out on a mission with Team Minato, but I wasn’t lonely. Mama and Papa were home. And there was one more person around. At least, I was hoping they were around.

Once the flour was set out on the nearby counter to be measured, I checked out the window again, pushing my hair out of my eyes. Nothing but the nearby buildings of the surrounding shopping district, some of the ninja apartments, the Hokage Monument, and that single evergreen tree. Even in the winter, it was still standing tall and proud with its covered branches.

A smile was already on my face as I reached over with my clean hand to open the window. “Kuroha-san? Are you there?”

A long pause followed. Every single part of me was screaming at me for  _ defying _ every single bit of common sense, just because I was essentially  _ talking _ to what felt like empty air, but I pressed on anyways. “If you’re there, could you signal? I know you might be guarding me and all, but it’d be nice to get company…”

It took a second for a wind to lightly rustle my hair. And today was supposed to be a clear day.

Hee hee. Of course.

“So, you’re there?” I tried gently.

Another small wind.

I could feel the smile on my face growing as my flour-covered left hand already found a grip around the nearest measuring cup. “You can come in, y’know. It’s just me in the kitchen right now.”

The wind blowing against my hair paused.

I could only hope it was a good sign, but I kept up the smile. “I’m making chocolate chip cookies?” With an exaggerated shrug of my shoulders, I glanced around the kitchen behind me before adding a small, “And we have ingredients for mochi if you’re hungry? This kitchen is big enough for multiple people.”

There was a single second of quiet before there was a loud  _ WHOOSH _ . I tried not to yelp, holding down my green apron with a hand. Everything was blowing, not helped by how the source was the window, and my eyes were already closed before it calmed down as quickly as it came.

Did it work—

“Okay,” was the soft reply of the newcomer, and from the small cat meow that followed the statement, I already knew who it was. I turned around, brushing down my hair once I made eye contact with  _ brown _ eyes.

Otoha smirked at me, albeit a bit shakily before looking away, breaking the eye contact. “Do you have rice flour?”

The smile on my face could already break my face from how much it was stretching my cheeks. “We do. Welcome to the Hoshino Family Kitchen, Kuroha-san.” Glancing them over proved my suspicion that they were out on some kind of vanguard, judging by the standard outdoor version of the ANBU jacket draped over their black sweatshirt. But their gloves were clean, and they were smiling. “It’s good to see you.”

Otoha ducked their head, mumbling something. All I could hear was, “—it okay?”

“Of course it’s okay, Osie.”

They were looking up at me again.

I just smiled before gesturing to the incomplete cookie dough behind me. “We can bake together. I’d like to work together.” Before I could think on it, I exhaled shakily, keeping my hands to myself in the hopes of holding back a tackle-hug. The look on Otoha’s face said everything. Surprise, shock, and just… bare relief. Had to stay calm. “Is…” I inclined my head. “Is it okay if you could be with me? I’d like to be with you, for today.” Another thought occurred before I finished with a small and honest, “Every day really.”

Otoha’s eyes widened, and a stray strand of hair fell onto one of the frames of their glasses as their jaw tightened. “To-To…” Then they let out a soft dinosaur roar, nodding. “Sure.”

There went the embarrassment in exchange for another smile. “Aye. It’s good to see you again, Kuroha-san. I look forward to working with you.”

I should’ve had a camera, because the hint went through. Otoha’s presence  _ mattered _ to me, and to Kei, and to see the plain  _ happiness  _ in their face was enough.

“To-To, To-To, To-To!” Otoha trilled with bouncy flaps of their hands.

I couldn’t help but giggle. “Just let me measure this flour and we’ll work on the mochi together. I have some green tea powder in the cabinet.”

“Mrrrrrrrp!”

Mrrrrrp, indeed, friend. Mrrrrrp, indeed.


	21. Appreciate Otoha Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why did I write this? Because after a certain late night and seeing a certain enby’s reaction via writing that became Chapter 19, I had to bring along the fluff. Because it’s the only way I know that could bring a positive insight on things. Because friends deserve appreciation, and it’s the least I can do.  
> I can’t take away all the pain, but I can try to alleviate it. Because we’re friends and I want to.  
> The themes this time are Theister’s piano cover of K-On’s U & I and RWBY’s Let’s Just Live. Because it’s about time I used them. — Vy

It had become easier for me to get used to the feeling that something was wrong. Even if ninja were secretive and constantly used, “Confidential information,” like Mikuru Asahina almost all the time when it came to specific situations, they were still _human_.

And when most of your friend group were ninja, you noticed things.

Even if Kei didn’t say it, she seemed to give enough hints to where I already knew what I wanted to do.

It was still a few months too early, but Appreciate Kei Day could get a sequel in its own way. Back in the old world, Presidents’ Day offered homage to both George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, last I checked, and I could take a few cues.

Otoha needed a day too.

_Chip._

The crack of an eggshell. Breaking down mixed nuts with a food processor.

_Syrup._

Pouring the melted butter into the mashed bananas.  

_Whip!_

Mixing the flour and baking powder into the banana batter, making it thick and gooey in the way banana nut muffin batter was supposed to be. A small smile was already showing up on my face from seeing the batter temper itself with the dry ingredients before settling into something that smelled and tasted good.

That old, three-word saying from _Shugo Chara_ was still catchy. And helped with keeping myself on task with completing this recipe.

“Tomo?”

In any other case, I probably would’ve jumped at the call of my name, more so since it came from _behind_ me. But here? Nope. I already knew it was coming from the window and it didn’t have a screen like my old house back in the old world. Not to mention, I’d know that voice like the back of my hand. We’ve known each other for _years_ now. Without turning around, I picked up a nearby spatula to try getting some of the flour lumps out of the muffin batter. “Hi, Kei.”

“Yo.” With a soft tap of the tile, I already knew my reincarnation buddy was in the kitchen. She paused in her walking over before adding a musing, “You seem busy,” and a huff was all the indication I had to know that she was both curious and apprehensive. Once someone was looming over my shoulder, I absently reached over to pat the top of Kei’s hair. “What are you up to _this time_ , Tomo?”

“Baking.”

“I can see that,” Kei mused in that same even tone. “But for what occasion?”

 _Pft_. I decided to humor her while going back to my task of handling the muffin batter. Now, where were those nuts? “You can read my chakra like I’m an open book, Kei, why don’t you guess?”

My best friend snorted while poking my cheek. “I’d rather hear it from you?”

Well. She got me there. I turned around to give her my best smile. “Appreciate Otoha Day!”

If Kei was intrigued before, the raised eyebrow in my direction said everything else. “Appreciate Otoha Day?” she echoed.

“Appreciate Otoha Day!”

“Like,” Kei raised her hands to do air quotations too, “[ ‘Appreciate Kei Day’ ](https://writer-and-artist27.tumblr.com/post/167691162644/langwrites-happy-25th-birthday-lang-i)?”

“Essentially.” I couldn’t stop smiling.

Kei snorted softly, a wry smile on her lips. “Tomo.” Her voice alone was caught between fond acceptance and a slight bit of disbelief, and I already had my hackles up, just in case. “I get that you want to help, but you might be pushing yourself—”

“Nope.”

Kei blinked at me. “Bwuh?”

“Nope. None of that. Don’t pull the overworking statement _now_ , Kei, please.” I gave her a wry smile while turning back to the muffin tins. The mochi and cheesecake were already sitting in the fridge, and this was all that was left. My legs could hold. “Today’s another day off. I asked Mama and Papa for it, and really, I’m not trying to push myself that hard. You’ve seen me bake before.”

“For stress reasons, yes,” she deadpanned.

“Your point?”

Kei sighed as her forehead met the inside of her palm. “Tomo, just…” she trailed off, and I turned my head to look at her. She had on that same wry smile. “Just take care of yourself too.” Her eyes said everything.

That was it. I put down my spatula, turned on the heel of my foot, and opened my arms to gesture in her direction. “I know, I know, now come over here and let me hug you, you doof.”

My reincarnation buddy was giving me a raised eyebrow before shrugging her shoulders. “What the hell,” she muttered before shooting me a more genuine _Kei_ -smile. “Sure.”

The hug didn’t take that long to initiate, and once I could rest my head on Kei’s shoulder, I shook my head while squeezing her. “I’ll be okay, Kei. I wanted to do this. Otoha’s been in and out of the cafe these days, and I’ve had a weird feeling. I’ll be okay.”

“You better be,” was the whisper atop my head, and a hand was pressing on my shoulders. I pulled away, and Kei was smiling. “You push yourself too hard sometimes, and there are _limits_.”

A giggle left me. “Well, that’s who I am. Now then.” I walked past her, careful to not push against her shoulder before putting a hand on the handle of the fridge. “You did show up at a good time. Do you want to do some taste-testing?” A big grin was growing on my face once the recognition and anticipation started showing in Kei’s stare in my direction. “I have mochi!”

“I wouldn’t turn _that_ down for the world.”

“Yay!”

* * *

The oven’s timer was already reading five minutes left. The scent of baking, fresh muffin was already flooding the house, and Kei’s smile was big enough to the point of filling me with pride. “You did good, Tomo.” She inclined her head towards me. “You did good.”

“Not yet,” I wiggled a finger towards her as she bit down on another piece of red bean mochi. Even if I tried to be neat, there was always the occasional sweets straggler, and well, Kei was more than happy to eat those. Or save some for Hayate and Obito. It could work. “We’re still missing someone.”

Kei’s eyes widened before softening to understanding. “Ah,” she said quietly. “They’re around, from what I can tell. On the roof?”

 _Mulan reference. Then again…_ “Probably,” I said, before getting up from my chair at the dinner table, trying not to focus on the soreness of my legs. Standing for so long baking did things, but oh well. It was a necessary sacrifice.

That same evergreen tree was still standing outside the kitchen window, and I pushed the glass pane aside before poking my head out. “Kuroha-san? Kuroha-san, are you there?”

A few seconds, and then a wind lightly brushed my face from the roof, barely rustling my hair.

Hee hee. There they are.

I opened my mouth and called again. “Could you come down here for a bit?”

The wind stopped as quickly as it came. The same silence from before.

My heart was in my throat, but I went on anyways. “Kei’s here too, y’know. And she and I have something for you!”

Another wind brushed my hair, this time softer. It wasn’t like the greeting or signal from before, but questioning almost.

Almost there. “Please, Kuroha-san?”

It didn’t even take a second this time.

_WHOOSH._

It took both habit and sheer instinct to not yelp, and then Otoha was kneeling on the kitchen tile behind me, shoulders tense. It almost looked like a hero’s landing if not for the fact that they got up as quickly as they came in, and they dusted off their ANBU uniform before turning to meet my eyes. Or, to make “eye contact” from the looks of it. It was hard to tell with the white-red Owl mask covering their face. “You sure about this?” was the quiet reply.

“I’m sure. And you can take off the mask now, Kuroha-san.”

Otoha tensed. “Uh.”

“Nice mask,” Kei interrupted from behind me.

Otoha tensed before rocking back and forth on their sandals. “Thanks?” It was an unsure question before Otoha nodded to themselves. “Yeah. Thanks, Kei-Kei.”

The smirk was obvious in her voice. “No problem.”  

“Well, uh. It’s just the three of us in the house and I don’t think you have to worry about the job when today’s a different kind of day and I wanted to give you something?” I added.

Otoha’s shoulders were tense, but their hands still went up in the air to grasp at their mask anyways. Despite the claws in their gloves, the mask wasn’t even scratched as they slowly took it off, revealed the brown eyes I knew as my other reincarnation buddy and the best enby friend a girl could have. “Is this better?” They averted their eyes.

“Yes. Now then…” Thank goodness the fridge was nearby, so I could reach over to grab the handle and pull the door open. “The gift.”

“Uh, To-To, you were actually serious—?”

I was already pulling out the plate of green tea mochi to offer in their direction while putting on my best smile. Honesty was the only way out here. “For you, Kuroha-san.”

Their eyes were wide as a surprised roar left their throat. Something along the lines of a dinosaur noise or a screech, it was hard to tell. “To-To?”

“Like I said,” with plate in hand, I walked over to gently place the sweets in their arms, grinning all the while. “For you. There’s banana nut muffins in the oven too. And a cheesecake back in the fridge.”

If Otoha’s eyes were wide before, they now resembled saucers with how big they got.

_Ding, ding, ding._

“Perfect timing!” I mused, turning on my heel to grab my oven mitts. Pressing the off button on the oven timer didn’t take that long.

Otoha’s stare was still trained into my back along with Kei’s wayward one as I turned back to the oven door to open it, pulling out the muffin tin. Slipping off one mitt, I gently poked a top with my fingernail. _Poof poof_ , it seemed to go, bouncing back from my touch almost immediately. “Yay! Finished!”

“To-To,” an uncertain dinosaur squee followed the call of my nickname, and I turned to face Kuroha-san. They were still looking away, having put the mochi down on a nearby counter, and they gripped their left arm with their right hand. It almost looked like they were hiding. “Why—”

I took a breath and let my heart take over. “Because I wanted to.”

Otoha was looking at me in deep surprise once a small smile came over Kei’s face.

“I know I’m not the greatest person to be around. I can get emotional, moody, kinda out there sometimes, and my chakra doesn’t help. I know I can sulk too, and I’m sorry. For all the emotional things that can get ugly.” Heat was flooding my face from the rambling, but I continued anyways. “But, Kuroha-san, you’re still here. You’re still here, with Kei, being my best friends in the whole wide world, so…” I picked up the muffin tin to display to them. “Thank you. For guarding me, for looking out for Kei when I can’t,”  Kei snorted, but I went on anyways in spite of the blush on my cheeks, “for being my best friend, and, um.” Darn. Ramble ending. I closed my eyes and offered the muffins anyways. “Just, thank you. For finding me and Kei, and for staying. Today’s, well, um.” I swallowed the lump in my throat to finish. “Today’s ‘Appreciate Otoha Day’ to me, so…”

“T-To-To…” A soft dinosaur roar. “To-To, To-To.”

I kept my eyes closed because I was already an _oven_ from how much I was blushing. I didn’t know whether it was from embarrassment or shame from my saying all that _cheese_ . “I-I mean, I know Appreciate Kei Day is on Lang’s birthday, and your old birthday is still _really_ far away, but I didn’t want to just limit our interactions to wind and feathers! I wanted to give you something, something you’d like, just because you _matter_ and you’re so important in my life, and I’d like you to stay, and um,” my voice cracked, but I kept my grip on the muffin tin, “if this isn’t enough, I can play piano—”

A few footsteps was all it took for the muffin tin to leave my hands and for someone else to lightly barrel into me instead. My eyes flew open, and past the new shoulder, all I could see was tussled brown hair.

“Kuroha… san?”

The person in my arms shuddered as the grip around my waist tightened. Something wet was starting to grow on my shirt shoulder — _Oh._

I couldn’t say the three words I wanted in the ramble, just because of trigger reasons, but I thought them anyways. With a warm smile and a warm squeeze to return the hug.  

“A happy day, just for you, Kuroha-san. Happy Early Birthday.” The thought occurred to me, and I reached over to pat the back of their shoulders. “I’ll make sure to make more sweets when your birthday does come by. Because I wanted to. You matter to me, okay?”

Otoha gave me a soft and muffled, “Mrrrp,” as Kei came around and joined in on the hug. “Second that,” Kei finished finally.

Another day, with my best friends.

The white feather tucked behind Otoha’s ear was a good enough sign for me.


	22. Gift Giving

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even if it is March now, I wanted to put out this idea for a while. Even if Valentine’s Day is long past. A good stress cry gave me this idea. Plus some words Os shared with me in one chat that I couldn’t help but remember fondly. Not to mention Extended Team Minato had to show up at one point.  
> I recommend you listen to Mirror Mirror Part 2 from RWBY (instrumental version included) for this, if not for the meaning in the lyrics matching Tomoko’s inner thoughts, then to reclaim the song for its more positive intentions from the now discontinued Danganronpa crossover. Using the instrumental as a theme for the angsty prologue was alright, I just wanted to give the song proper justice. :) An alternative song is You Can’t Stop this Beat for real upbeat stuff, because Lang sent me this AMV and I loved the song.  
> Enjoy~ — Vy

“Eh—” Obito’s eyes had gone as wide as saucers. “Tomo-chan?!” His hands were visibly shaking as he slowly reached out towards me. “Is this—”

“Um, I hope you’re not going to turn down chocolate?” was my intelligent response, before my heart caught up. “Because it has your name on it and I don’t want it to melt in the sun before you get to eat it…” I still offered the gift box in his direction. “It _is_ for you, Obi—”

“FUCK, TOMO-CHAN, YOU’RE AMAZING!” was Obito’s loud cheer, and even when my feet weren’t on the ground anymore and people were staring at the scene we were making because they _were_ , I did my best to return the sudden tackle-carry hug. “I-It’s really okay!? Like, like, it’s _really_ okay to take this?!” His eyes were sparkling even behind his goggles as he kept me up in the air.

I gripped the box a little tighter to lightly bonk him on the head with it while hugging back. Spiky black hair included. The dork. The Uchiha Clan didn’t deserve him at all. “I wouldn’t have made it for you if I didn’t want to give it _to you_ , Obi, what are you talking about?” I politely left out the tears budding at the corners of his eyes. “You’re my friend, so a bit of chocolate every year is the least I can do for you, can’t I?”

Obito smiled brighter, putting me down before pulling me into a tighter hug. “Thank you, Tomo-chan…!” A few wet drops landed on the shoulder of my dress, and I ignored it in favor of brushing through his messy hair. “Thank you! I’ll take it!” He was laughing. “What will Bakashi say to this…?”

Oh, Obito.

* * *

Ricchan was next on my Receiving List, and thankfully, finding her was just as easy as finding the Uchiha infatuated with her. As expected, she was working in the hospital, with Yamaguchi-sensei around somewhere, as always.

“Ricchaaaaan!”

“Tomo-chan?” She looked up from her work at the newest clipboard, bags clearly visible under her eyes. I did my best to slow down my run so I wouldn’t accidentally _barrel_ into her from the happy juice, but still went over to hug her regardless. “Hello there,” she said, a bit more pleasant and awake this time as she hugged back. “What are you doing, Tomo-chan?”

“I got something for you!”

“For me?”

I fumbled with my picnic basket before pulling out the gift bag. It was the nicest I could find in the art store, along with the lollipop sticks, so the candy white cake pops stood out quite nicely within the lavender silk packaging. “Ahem!” I stood to attention with a mock salute while offering the bag to her. “Annual Sweets Package, Special Delivery for Nohara Rin-chan!”

My medic friend was already flushing a light pink. “F-For me?”

My grin was already stretching my cheeks from how big it was. Nearby cigarette smoke be damned, I had a task and currently so close to finishing it! “For you, who else?” The thought occurred to me. “It has vanilla cake and frosting all in one package? With white chocolate, if you’re okay with that—“

I probably should’ve expected Ricchan tackling me in a hug too. Oh well.

* * *

“…”

“Kashi.”

“…..”

“Kashi, _say_ something, will you?”

My housemate was giving me an unimpressed stare regardless of what I was actually _doing_ , glancing between the bundle in my hands and my face. His gaze was both searching and curious in spite of the nonverbal exasperation. “What is this?”

“A friendship gift.”

Kakashi was frowning. “For what occasion?” He paused before adding, “Tomoko, you _know_ I don’t like sweets.”

“One, I just wanted to, and two, I know, so I did a twist!” I offered him the blue baggie anyways, trying not to roll my eyes. “It’s specially-made _dog_ food. Call them ‘Scooby Snacks’ if you want.”

“…Why?”

“Because both your ninken _and_ you can eat them. Last part is only if you wanna. It’s safe enough for both parties to consume. I used the softest caramels that _won’t_ break teeth and peanut butter.” I raised a finger before Kakashi could interrupt, adding, “And I asked Sakumo-jichan and Fuse-san before making these. These snacks should be okay. So, for the love of all that is friendship worthy, _just_ take these and don’t question it, Kakashi!”

My housemate was raising an eyebrow at me, but still gingerly took the package from my hands. “Thanks,” he said dryly.

The small spark in his eyes past his mask was good enough.

* * *

**Deaaaaaar.**

_Hmmmmm?_

**Dear, you shouldn’t be lying down on the floor…**

_Tired._

**After all those deliveries?** My Nobody scoffed. **Why wouldn’t you be? You silly charge of mine.**

I still pushed the prepared mental image of a decadent chocolate cake towards her anyways. _I love you too, Hisako._

 **_Ohmigod,_ ** **you sweetheart. I take all my complaints back!**

Hehe.

“Tomo-chan?”

An accompanying dinosaur roar from the direction of the kitchen window. “To-To, why are you playing Sloth?”

“Can’t move…” a hum left my lips anyways, in _spite_ of my apparent slurring. “Enough about meeeeeee. Gifts on the tableeeeee…”

The sound of footsteps quickly ensued, and a hand poked my cheek as a confused dino-like noise followed. I tried not to bat at Kei’s arm and waited. “What’s the occasion—Mochi!” A happy roar accentuated the statement. “Mochi, mochi, mochi!” With lots of hand flapping too.

Even without raising my head, I could tell Otoha was happy.

“Mission accomplished… Now, lemme sleeeeeeep.”

Hands were already moving me away from the abode that was my place on the tile floor, and Kei was chuckling. “No way are you making friends with the bedbugs you’re not.” It took an extra second for my mind to make the connection that she was hugging me, and even with her ninja blues and mesh on, she was still _warm._ “Thanks, Tomo.”

Another hand was reaching over, and my vision cleared in time for me to note Otoha’s ungloved hand grasping mine, the happiest smile on their face. What sounded like a small cat purr followed the gesture, and they squeezed my hand. “I love you, y’know that, Tomo?”

I smiled. The day turned out great after all. “Love you too, Kuroha-san… Kei…” My eyes drooped closed before I could stop them. “Happy Friendship Day…”

A small scoff sounded above my hair as the hug turned into a sudden carry session all over again. “Yeah, right,” Kei muttered, and the footsteps were telling enough. She was carrying me around again, like when we were kids. “More like ‘Happy Valentine’s Day,’ Tomo, you goofball.”

“Valentines, Friendship, it works…”

A disbelieving and jubilant velociraptor cry was one response. “To-To, you forgot to take care of yourself.”

I didn’t open my eyes. “Did you both at least like the gifts…?”

This time, the response I got was a soft bonk to the top of my head. “Yep. Now sleeeeeeep.”

I didn’t need to be told twice. For once, it was enough. It felt like I could change things for the better after all.


	23. Feather Crown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As thanks. To the friend that rewrote some story to share with the world. To the friend that said, “Yeah, you do,” to my voiced thought of, “I don’t deserve you.”  
> Accompanied by Kyle Landry’s piano cover of Spirited Away’s Inochi no Namae and One Summer’s Day. — Vy

The first time Kuroha-san left a feather behind, I made sure to keep it for memories’ sake. Even though we were best friends, even though we were reincarnation buddies, they were still a shinobi, and they had to go out on missions sometime. More so with their being ANBU and Orochimaru’s lab assistant.

Not that I liked the last parts.

Still, there was something about those small feathers that made me smile every time I saw them. They could be anywhere, from the small wedge in the kitchen window sill to the empty seat of a chair underneath the awning of the cafe entrance. The soft glow of the white plumage proved it was from my best enby friend.

Even if Otoha wasn’t physically there all the time like Kei could be, that didn’t mean they weren’t real. They _were_ real and they were alive, like me, and I couldn’t help but keep every feather safe in a small jar at the corner of my desk to remind myself of that. To remind myself that I had another friend to help get through life’s road bumps.

Otoha had a lot on their shoulders. I already knew that, at least unconsciously, when we first met and they hugged me as hard as they did. The nagging feeling only confirmed itself when we first trained together, and the words they used in pointing out the flaws in my stance. Even if I didn’t understand what happened in their past life before finding Kei and I again, even if I didn’t know everything, it didn’t stop me from feeling the way I did.

I wanted to thank Otoha with everything I had, and those feathers were another reminder of that.

“Eh?” Jim-san gave me a confused look as soon as I came up to him with the request, and he glanced over the jar once I deposited it on the counter. “Jewelry? With these feathers?”

“Tomoko-chan, that’s sweet of you, but it’s hard with real feathers…” Wataru-jichan added with a raised hand, but his smile at least was encouraging. “Who is it for?”

“A friend,” I said, putting forward about five thousand ryo anyways. “Someone Kei and I love. And I was thinking we could make a hair pin or something if we used protective resin and glue to preserve the feathers…”

Hisako pushed my shoulder softly. **It’s something, dear,** she murmured encouragingly. **Go for it.**

I smiled anyways. “Could we still try? I have a few ribbons on me…”

The two men glanced at each other. Then Wataru-jichan walked over to me first. His unsure smile from before had turned into an understanding grin. “Let’s get Miyako-chan, Tomoko-chan, then we can try. She has more tricks than us.”

* * *

“To-To, what are you hiding?”

“Whaaaaaat? No no no, I’m not hiding anything!”

Kuroha-san was still giving me the “yeah, I don’t believe you” stare as they swayed from side to side on their perch of a nearby tree, trying to glance past my shoulders. “You have something,” they insisted with a small noise, shaking their head. “Your chakra’s going everywhere.”

 _I_ knew _I forgot something!_

 **Time’s up** **_,_ ** **dear** **_._ **

I held back the urge to sigh, sitting back down on the grass before patting the space next to me. “Please come down here first?”

One jump was all they needed. I tried not to flinch when the ninja landing was made, and Otoha quickly sat criss-cross-applesauce near my right side. “So,” they started with another small noise, “what is it?”

I gulped down my nervousness and tried to make my chakra shrink. “J-Just trust me and close your eyes, okay?”

“To-To…” Even without full eye contact, the disbelief and suspicion was obvious. “You’re not hiding anything bad, right?”

“No, no, just close your eyes!”

Otoha was still frowning, but closed them anyways.

I reached over as quietly as I could, and gently clipped the gift into their hair.

 _Boop_.

A soft noise caught between a cat meow and a dinosaur roar followed, and Otoha’s eyes opened slowly to expose surprised brown hues as they looked at me. “To-To?” They reached over with one hand to touch the feathery hair clip holding some of their brown bangs back from draping over their glasses. “This is…”

“I didn’t want to just leave all the feathers you gave me alone, Otoha.” An embarrassed blush was already coming over my face from the sheer audacity of this idea plus the sheer shock on their face. “And, um.” I sat back to glance away, feeling the heat before they could even speak up. “If I’m the stars, and Kei’s the sea… um. You’re the sky, aren’t you, Kuroha-san? With the feathers.” I covered my face with my hands to try hiding away.

“You’re the guardian angel to me, if that’s okay…”

 _I love you_ , I wanted to say. _Thank you for being with me_. Instead, all that left my throat was uncertain sounds akin to a high-pitched “mimble-wimble.” I knew I couldn’t. The first three words in particular were painful to them.

 _“Just be careful of what you say around Otoha, Tomo,”_ Kei’s words echoed in my head. _“Not everyone got the happy life back then.”_

That didn’t make gift giving any less important to me. And hey. Otoha got theirs.

At least I gave them the gift. It felt like something, in that grass field of the training grounds.


	24. This Life is Mine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by the 2019 Captain Marvel movie, and encouraged by Os. Plot finally kicks in, people!
> 
> I feel like the title of this chapter should say everything, but nonetheless, saying it. The theme for this chapter is Weiss's song of This Life is Mine from RWBY. Because the lyrics really help in calling out a certain snake and old war hawk. Patriarchy does not last that long for a reason, folks.
> 
> Please enjoy. — Vy

"Hiruzen is starting to notice our movements."

"Oh. That isssss not good. He will notice our little meetingssss and hideouts soon too then."

"I'll have to get moving. The brats in Rain are gathering forces, and may prove to be a threat later on. I've already talked with Hanzō about a future ambush."

"That may not be wise." A wet squelch followed the statement as Orochimaru continued his work. He smiled as Danzō tried not to wince. "Your treatment is not finished yet, and the war is sssstill ongoing. If you aim to become Hokage, going out while at your weakest will not be good for your reputation."

"Tch. Fine." Danzō could deal with the pain. "And the girl?"

"Living as oblivioussss as always. Even if she is a brat, her powers are ssssstill influencing those around her in her pathetic cafe."

"We should retrieve her as soon as possible. The sooner we can pull her away from the ninja she calls friends, the lesser the chances they have of catching onto our plans and finding her. We can train her, use her to achieve our goals faster."

Orochimaru purposefully angled his scalpel so it stabbed Danzō's side. "My pupil noted how risky a daylight operation is. The Yellow Flash and his team are protecting her." He made sure to pull the instrument out before Danzō could glare at him, putting on an innocent face. "The Third is surely keeping an eye out as well.  _Your_ movement now would only agitate him in this war."

"So? What is your plan then?" Danzō was already impatient if his biting down on his tongue was any indication, and Orochimaru smirked.

"Leave this task to me. The name of Sssssannin is not to be wasted."

* * *

"Sensei?"

Minato paused his work polishing up a seal, glancing up from the scroll at his feet to his student. "What is it, Kei-kun? And," he paused and blinked at the brunette lingering behind Kei's right side. Their headband proclaiming them a shinobi was around their neck and they wore a green flak vest indicating they were a chunin, but they looked away instead of making eye contact.  _Were they shy?_  "Hello there," he said gently. "Who are you?"

"Kuroki Otoha," they said quietly, letting out a strange noise before stepping out of Kei's shadow, frowning. That's when Minato caught a glimpse of the ANBU tattoo printed on Otoha's right shoulder. "There's something we need to tell you, Minato-sensei. It's urgent."

Minato quickly jumped to his feet, pulling out a privacy seal. "Alright then. Let's go somewhere else."

* * *

"Excuse me, little miss?"

It took a moment for the lightbulb to go off and to note that the new voice was addressing  _me_. Turning around led me to making eye contact with purple eyes, and they were shining. Huh? "Um," I asked, blinking, "were you talking to me?"

"Yes, little miss." The patron smiled and nodded. The gesture itself was nice, if not for setting both my heart and chakra on edge. Heck, my heart itself felt like something was squeezing it in the not-so-nice way, and it took a bit of effort to put on my usual customer-serving smile.

The patron just continued with their slightly-off smile. "I was hoping I could talk with you."

"At the piano? Or at a table?" I offered first, because now that I was getting a good look at this patron, they weren't giving me any high hopes.

The casual pale beige and gray-edged kimono was nice and all, along with the rice hat hiding the top of their head, but with the long straight black hair and the… well,  _long_ tongue licking their lips for just a second, it was all screaming, "Don't go with me, I want to eat you!" or something. Not to mention, you just don't  _wear_ rice hats indoors. Hitai-ites were the exception in Konoha and the Nagareboshi Cafe, but still.

The unearthly white skin on them didn't help any of the bad feelings.

 **Stay on guard, Tomoko-chan.** Hisako's voice echoed in my head quietly, and the mental hand on my shoulder was reassuring.  **Try to get out of this or avoid any confrontation alone until Kei and Otoha get back.**

Oh, yeah. That was another reason why this situation felt so strange. Kei and Otoha had left the cafe together only  _moments_  before. They'd been "passing the time before they had to go talk to Minato-sensei," or so they'd said. Their facial expressions seemed to hint at something else, but at the time, I let them go. It was their business, and even if I was getting better at self-defense, especially with the tessen carefully hidden in my kimono sleeve (courtesy of Otoha), I was still a civilian. I couldn't get into ninja business.

This situation was one of the times where I  _wished_ I was a ninja, if only to avoid this whole situation. This patron had showed up almost  _seconds_ after Kei and Otoha left, and with that sickly-sweet smile on their face, I couldn't help but feel on edge.

"If it's alright, little miss," they insisted in that same sweet voice, "I'd like to talk outside. Your music is so comforting, but this crowd around us makes me so uncomfortable. And there was a proposition I wanted to give you."

 **Strike one,** my Nobody noted dryly.  **Has this guy even** _ **read**_ **the signs around the cafe?**

Mama pointed them out to me  _millions_ of times, so the words were already engraved in my brain.

" _A few things to help protect our employees, Tomoko-chan,"_ she had said back then, gripping my shoulders tight enough to where I had to hide the urge to wince. " _Make sure to cite them if someone wants you to do something you don't want to do."_

I took a breath.  _1\. We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone, so long as they give us a reason to do so._

 **2\. Violence against any employee is forbidden.** Hisako recited.  **3\. If a customer is acting out and disrupting the cafe, we reserve the right to eject them from the premises. And 4.**

_No harassment of employees allowed._

Right now, this patron, even with their "nice" smile, was close to violating Rule Number 4.

"I understand feeling uncomfortable, but we can still talk here, sir," I said as placatingly as I could, gesturing to the piano behind me. "There's privacy seals installed on the piano itself, so we can talk about your proposition here and nobody will overhear."

"No, no, little miss, not here." I was not expecting the patron to reach over and grab my forearm, and the squeeze through my clothes this time felt desperate. Painful, even through the cover of my kimono sleeve. "It must be outside."

**Tomoko-chan, this isn't good. It feels like physical force. Definite violation of Number 4. You need to** _**get out.** _ **You can't let him take you outside! Really bad vibes here!**

_I-I know that!_

**Do something!**

"Why?" I asked again, trying to not show the pain on my face. Violence was probably a better go-to, but I didn't want to resort to that just yet. There was a thin line between self-defense and assault, and I didn't want to draw that just yet. "How important is this? I don't mean to be rude, sir, but I'm still working. I can't exactly  _leave."_

"You can take a break, can't you?" They batted their eyelashes at me, and the scent of their breath alone made me feel uneasy. It smelled disgusting, and overall, it didn't feel right. They were too close. Invading personal space, and their tongue… was it licking their lips again? Like a snake? "Please, little miss, can you hear me out? It's just an offer, one that's better than this little cafe."

"No, sir, I don't think I'm okay with that."

"Oh, you silly girl, it's just one talk!" The grip on my forearm tightened, and I couldn't help but wince now. It hurt. Violence seemed like the better option now. "Please? It's just one moment outssssside!"

"B-But…"  _I said no! Why is this person so persistent?!_

**Tomoko-chan, throw him off.**

_H-Hisako…!_

**This is not the time to hesitate and give this guy the time of day! Go sock him in the balls if you have to!**

_THAT'S A BIT MUCH._

A large hand reached over to grab the hand gripping my arm, and I looked up to meet silver eyes, exhaling the breath I didn't realize I was holding.

"I believe my niece already said a clear, 'No,'" Sakumo-jichan said flatly, tightening his grip enough to where the patron let go and I could recede back into my comfort zone. The dark look on his face said everything, and I couldn't help but feel glad that Sakumo-jichan was actually  _alive_ and serving as my surrogate uncle/reasonable adult figure. "I'll have to ask you to leave, sir. If not, then I will be forced to kick you out."

"Such a shame." I rubbed my forearm as soon as they tipped their hat in my direction. "Another time then, perhapssss."

Sakumo-jichan let him go with a near violent jerk, and the patron winked at me before slinking away. The glare from Sakumo-jichan didn't let up until the patron walked out through the bright red doors.

"Resssssst well, Tomoko," were the last words left in the wind passing through.

And, wait.

**Did that guy just… hiss his "s"? Like a snake?**

I rubbed my forearm again, and almost immediately, Sakumo-jichan's frown turned worrying in my direction. It was already comforting with how his eyes softened from that former glare. "Are you okay, Tomoko-chan?" I tried not to jump once he was in my personal space bubble, gently reaching over to touch my forearm. He didn't even grip it like the patron before him, simply touching it like I was a doll and not something to be mishandled. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"I-I don't think so—" But just to make sure, I gently pushed my kimono sleeve back with my other hand.

Sakumo-jichan summed it up best. "Oh god."

Instead of the usual pale skin, a large  _red_  handprint that heavily outclassed my own outstretched fingers covered my forearm. Hell, some of the red was already starting to turn yellow and purple at the edges from whatever internal injuries my body was currently having to contend with. The pain quickly followed the realization, just as the adrenaline faded too, and I tried not to wince again. "O-Ow," I said lightly.

How did I not notice this before?

Hisako nearly shrieked bloody murder.  **How long was that guy** _ **gripping**_ **you for?! This isn't some normal bruise! Tomoko-chan, you need a healer, like** _ **pronto!**_

"That  _bastard,_ " Sakumo-jichan cursed, before standing up abruptly and glaring in the direction of the front doors. "I'm going after him—"

But my heart was already saying it was a bad idea. The pain didn't help anything. "S-Sakumo-jichan?"

Tugging on the hem of his nearest sleeve with my other hand did the trick, because he immediately turned back to me with confusion in his eyes. "Tomoko-chan?"

"I-I'm okay,"  _please don't go, please, it hurts, why does it hurt, I don't want you to risk anything if that person was who I think it was…_ "you don't have to go—"

"Tomoko-chan, he  _hurt_  you," he interrupted with a shake of his head. "I should go. Before Judai steals the kill."

"K-Kill?" Oh god.

"Tomo-chan?"

_Oh god._

The new voice alone was all the signal I had before footsteps approached, and before I knew what was happening, Kei was right in front of me as her hands glowed blue. Her eyes were narrowed in that way that showed anger, but the way she gently took a seat next to me on the piano bench said something else entirely. "Tomo." The blue was already touching my arm, and I tried not to wince at the feel of her chakra pinging mine through the contact. Even if the ping was comforting, the pain was still there. "These are really bad bruises. Ain't just from any physical grip. Chakra was involved."

"Eh…?"

**Who do I need to help kill, sweetie?**

_N-Not you too, Hisako…_

It took another moment for the realization to hit that Kei was  _worried._ Distressed, upset, and worried. Even with her chakra hovering over the wound, the way her shoulders tensed painted a completely different picture. She looked up at me with a concerned face. "Are you okay?"

"B-Barely?" I squeaked.

Kei's hands continued to hover over the handprint as she raised her head and glanced to Sakumo-jichan. "What's going on? Why is she hurt?"

Instead of an immediate answer, Sakumo-jichan lowered his head, clenching his teeth enough to where I could faintly hear the grinding of fangs.

Oh gosh. This was becoming a mess.

 **That's a weird and long story, Kei,** Hisako said amicably. I didn't know if it was forced or genuine.

A few stomps of a foot, and I glanced over just to make eye contact with Otoha's brown eyes. Even through their glasses. Had Otoha's eyes ever been so dark before? "To-To. Who did this? Was it the person that passed Kei-Kei and I on the way back?"

"U-Um," I gulped down the lump in my throat as best as I could, because now there was a  _crowd._ Aside from Kei and Kuroha-san, there was Sakumo-jichan still looking considerably upset, a worried Mama, a stoic Minato-san, and I did not want to look up at the face Papa was probably making. And, if Kei and Kuroha-san were here, I had a feeling Extended Team Minato was too. Oh god. Just,  _god_. There wasn't even a guarantee that the rest of the cafe wasn't looking on the aftermath of the previous incident, if the whispering was any indication.

I took a breath. "W-Was he wearing a rice hat and had really really long black hair?"

The chakra around Kei's hands turned from blue to green. Healing. Her hands were so gentle compared to the seething anger showing on her face. "Yep. We barely got a glimpse of him, but he felt like  _shit_."

"It felt like slimy snakes," Otoha muttered under their breath. They had their fan out and was running their fingers over the closed edges, nail clacking the metal slats. "I didn't expect him to make a move this soon."

Kei clicked her tongue, and her chakra reached out to ping mine again. She must've noticed my fear. "We shouldn't have left."

"I don't know about that…"

_Would you still be here if you stayed back then?_

"Tomo, you're  _bruised_ and clearly hurt. That doesn't count as 'okay'," Kei finished harshly, still focusing on the wound as her eyebrows furrowed. I could feel myself flinch at the tone, and a pause followed before her voice softened in my direction. "Sorry. What happened?"

Sakumo-jichan nearby sighed as the others started to swarm him with similar questions. Thankfully, he made enough of a physical barrier so that only Otoha and Kei could hear my words, but I kept my voice quiet just in case. "Weird customer wanted to ask me out and I got grabbed for my trouble. Sakumo-jichan got me out of it."

Otoha made a distressed noise as they asked, " _Ask out?"_

"Not date. Proposition, or something." I tried to shrug with one hand while clenching the hand Kei was working on. Even if it  _hurt_ , I could still move it. Kinda. "I don't know. But he felt weird. Broke Cafe Rule Number 4 and, and…" I ducked my head. "When he left, he was smirking. And hissed his last s like a snake."

It took a single second for Kei and Otoha to glance at each other. That was all the confirmation they needed to come to the same conclusion I had. Kei was the first to turn back to me, and her expression said everything, just as her chakra faded from my semi-healed arm. "You need a guard."

"Eh?"

Minato-san was already looming over Kei's shoulder and nodded his head. "I concur with that, Kei-kun."

"E-Eh?"

"Sensei," Kei said, glancing up at him. "What do you think?"

I didn't get a chance to think about anything else until someone else was taking up a seat, a hand landing on my head. Looking up in that direction had me meet Mama's eyes, and she was quick in pulling me into a hug from behind. I didn't have to be a sensor to know she was worried too. The grip, and her eyes, it all screamed concern that didn't fit the atmosphere of my home. Who else was going to get drawn into this whole mess?

Wait. Better question.

What were the ninja going to do?

Otoha lingered near me as soon as Minato-san stood to attention, counting off fingers absently. "Protective seals is the first that comes to mind. A constant watch, provided by ninja close by." He paused, eyebrows furrowing against his forehead. "An official report to the Uchiha Police Force for some extra shinobi to stand guard, just in case it gets worse. Some ANBU as a last resort."

**Er. Hey, wait a minute—**

"I think that about covers the immediate issues," he finished. "The rest is something I need to gather some people for."

 **That** _ **covers**_   **it?!**  Hisako shrieked.

I wanted to yell out too. Because, if Minato-san was really thinking what I think he was doing, then…

"U-Um, Minato-san?"

I didn't even realize my voice had gone up to a mouse squeak in terms of frequency until everyone was looking at me, and the heat was turned on yet again. They didn't have to stare. Why were they following mob mentality in staring?! Ugh. Even though I wanted to be anywhere  _but_ here in the center of this whole problem, I went on anyways. "What are you thinking of doing?"

He smiled and reached over. I instinctively closed my eyes, partially out of fear. "Don't worry about it, Tomoko-chan." A hand landed on my head instead, and a surprised breath left me as I looked up. Minato-san was still grinning. Almost in the visage of his future son. "Just stick with your Mama and Kei-kun and Otoha-kun, okay? The rest of us adults need to be heroes tonight."

The shared glance Minato-san proceeded to partake in with Papa and Sakumo-jichan confirmed it. Even if the gesture was supposed to be comforting, even if the words were a clear attempt to give off the feeling that everything would be okay, it didn't work.

I couldn't feel anything but cold.

 _Squeeze_ , went a hand against my shoulders.

Oh. Let me correct that.

It was cold, but it was tempered with a bit of familiar warmth. The presence of my friends and family always helped with that.

* * *

An hour later, Gekkō Miyako reacted just as well as any other ninja parent would in the current situation. " _What,"_  she said harshly, the teapot in her hands barely tipped to refill the nearest cup before she put it down onto the living room table with the barest semblance of grace. "Tomoko-chan was attacked?"

Minato nodded his head as Judai held back a sigh. No one liked the situation in the slightest, and the ninja gear on everyone but the Gekkōs proved the severity of it.

"Privacy seal first," Judai replied quickly, turning his head to both sides before adding a sharp, "Hey, anyone got one?!"

Wataru thankfully stood up with a large square in hand, a forced bravado on his face. "Got it covered!" he yelled with equally false cheer, before taking off the protective backing and slamming the sticky side of the paper onto the table. It took a second for the jutsu to take hold, and once it did, everyone exhaled. "Think that should work." Wataru paused before giving a shaky thumbs-up. "Yeah, it should!"

For the first time that visit, Judai shot Wataru an appreciative grin, shine on his headband coming off welcoming and grateful. "Thanks, man."

"No problem," Wataru smiled back, beating a hasty retreat to his wife's side as soon as Sakumo took a step forward.

With uncharacteristic, or perhaps nostalgic, solemness, the former White Fang added a small square of his own to the table, and the seal work tightened in on the room.

"Sa—Captain?"

"Hmph." A snort followed the title as Sakumo rolled his eyes. "I guess that title works with what's going on." He put his hands on his hips and laughed, but the sound was bitter. Not at all in touch with the man Minato knew as a friend. Right now, he was a battle-hardened Jounin all over again. "I'll debrief, like old times?"

"You may do so, Sakumo," Miyako added, her posture stiff as a board as she took a seat. She inclined her head, and her black eyes narrowed. "Nonetheless, what exactly happened?"

Sakumo glanced between Judai and Minato. Both men nodded grimly, and he turned back to face the others with a poker face. The seals were working, so there was nothing to fear about anyone overhearing. He spoke bluntly. "With Minato here, I have reason to believe Orochimaru tried to kidnap Tomoko-chan in broad daylight."

It didn't even take a second. Miyako turned pale as Wataru's jaw slackened. "What?" Wataru said first after a bit of silence, his eyes wide with horror. "Orochimaru? Of the Sannin? Wh—" he gaped like a fish, frantically glancing between everyone before Miyako gently elbowed him through her yukata sleeves. "Sorry," he said quickly, shaking his head vigorously before throwing his hands up with a loud, "But why?! Why would he want to kidnap Tomoko-chan?! She's a sweetheart! She couldn't hurt a fly, and she's just a civilian kid!"

All fine reasons except for one thing. One thing Minato knew the Gekkōs were aware of.

"Her chakra," Miyako concluded grimly, and Judai nodded as the cold started to settle into the room. "It is not like that of everyone else, and considering the recent rumors circulating around Orochimaru…"

There was no need to fill in that blank.

"Shit," Wataru said dryly.

"If he tries to take her, I'm spiking his head on a stick first," Judai growled. The slight bit of killing intent leaking off of him proved he meant every single word. "Sannin or War Hero,  _screw_  that shit. I don't fucking care how famous he is. He hurt my little girl. Not okay."

"Enough about 'spiking heads', Judai," Minato interrupted with a raised hand. "If you said that aloud, we'd be in trouble without the seals." He paused before adding a quiet, "Although I do sympathize with your feelings."

"So," Miyako interrupted harshly, "What are we to do? You did not come here just to report the aftermath of an incident that has not resolved itself, did you?"

Sakumo closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Minato was thinking we take on a mission with the Third Hokage. A private one, where the kids protect Tomoko-chan and Hikari, while we take on the…" he made air quotations, disgust evident on his face, "'dishonorable snake,' essentially."

Miyako's mouth thinned out into a stern line. "You are proposing we fight again? And leave our children alone possibly defenseless?"

"I don't like the idea either, Miyako," Sakumo replied in a clipped voice, shaking his head. His eyebrows furrowed on his head from clear discomfort. "But the Third has noticed this too. There's no way Orochimaru would've acted out like that unless there's something else brewing that we don't know about." He paused, fists clenching before adding a smaller, "Minato?"

The Yellow Flash took a step forward and nodded. "Kei-kun and the others are Chunin, Miyako-san. They can handle it." He took a breath before exhaling slowly. "It'd be better if we hit Orochimaru sooner rather than later. There's been intel that this isn't the first case of assault."

Miyako's hands were clenching her teacup hard enough to create cracks in the green porcelain. "…You are suggesting there have been more."

The air proceeded to turn colder. Minato raised a hand to count off fingers. "Numerous children from nearby settlements going missing. Infants along with toddlers. Genin not showing up to their command posts. Even a few Chunin and Jounin going on a mission and never coming back to report." He paused before closing his hand and lifting a single pointer finger. "The common denominator? They all disappeared from areas that  _Orochimaru_ had contact with."

"…Well, fuck," Wataru summed up adequately.

"And Kei-chan and Tomoko-chan have been in contact with Orochimaru's student…" Miyako's grip on her cup loosened as the horror dawned in her eyes. "What about Otoha-kun? Are they alright?"

Minato could feel his shoulders relax as he nodded. "Otoha-kun was the one who  _gave_  me the intel, Miyako-san. Otoha-kun at the very least is innocent."

Miyako leaned back against her chair with an inaudible sigh, closing her eyes. "…So they are not complicit in Orochimaru's actions?"

The air turned a bit warmer. "No," Minato said firmly, a small smile coming up to his face. "When they told me the story with Kei-kun, they were clearly disgusted and wanted out of their teacher-student relation. Kei-kun vouched for them too." He paused, debating whether to share the detail, but shrugged. It was still the truth. "So, if anything, Otoha-kun is a shinobi loyal to Konoha, and a friend that wants to keep Tomoko-chan and Kei-kun safe."

Miyako smiled tiredly and leaned her head against Wataru's shoulder. "That is a small relief in all the news you have given us. Small, but a relief nonetheless."

Nearby, Wataru smiled and wrapped an arm around his wife's waist to squeeze reassuringly. "Definitely, Miyako-chan."

"Yeeeeep." Still, Judai tapped his sandal against the tile absently. "That, I get. But Minato, question?"

Minato blinked, turning to Judai with confusion. "Sure."

"I kinda wish you would've said, 'No,'" Judai said in a dry voice, before shaking his head. "I hate being the devil's advocate," was the tense mutter, but Judai still coughed into his fist, clearing his throat. "What you're saying is that Orochimaru is fucked up, he plans on fucking up more than he has already, and you want all of us in this room to go confront him?"

Minato already knew this question was coming. It was an impossible request. Still. He had to try.

He got to his knees and bowed his head as respectfully as he could.

"Wha—Minato?!"

"Minato, what are you  _doing_?" Sakumo said incredulously over his head.

Wataru yelped with an equally panicked, "Why are you prostrating, Minato?!"

"I'm sorry! I know this is a lot to ask, I know!" Minato said instead, keeping his head down.  _You all have families. You're supposed to be retired. You shouldn't have to risk your lives again, over a big suspicion that could turn out to be the end of everything. I know I shouldn't have asked you._ "But you all look after my team more than I do myself, and I can't think of anyone else to ask. You all have seen more than I have, and still gave up the life. But please." He shook his head, keeping his posture as much as he could. "Just this one mission. Orochimaru has to be taken out." His chest hurt, but he said it. "I don't want to lose a team again."

Minato knew better than anyone that if one link was taken out, even if said link wasn't on the mission roster, things would go to hell.

Tomoko-chan was the heart, and whether he liked it or not, his team's wellbeing was dependent on her staying that way.

Sure, there was no bringing back his old Genin Team. But maybe, this time…

"…Namikaze-san, please raise your head."

Minato did so. Miyako's black eyes were staring into his soul, and he gulped. When did she get so close? "You wish to save the children?"

"More than anything," he said immediately. "There's been enough disappearances. I've seen enough death."  _I don't want to see my students die. I don't want to see them fall apart like I did when_ they  _died._

A few seconds passed. Miyako continued to stare at him, until, to his surprise, she smiled. "Then that is sufficient." She got back to her feet, sweeping her hand over the hem of her yukata to brush off the dust. "I will partake in this mission from hell."

Minato blinked and straightened his back. "…Huh?" That was too easy. Normally, Miyako-san would be rigid. Unforgiving of any reckless risk-taking. Yet this agreement took less than 10 minutes. How?

Sakumo startled too. "Miyako…!"

The former samurai tucked her hands into her yukata sleeves, nodding her head towards him. "It is an obvious choice, Sakumo. Either sit back and wait for a ninja I originally trusted to go on and hurt my niece, or risk my life to protect my daughter." She smirked. "There is no choice in the matter. My decision has been made." She paused before taking a hand out of her sleeve, exposing a hidden wakizashi blade. "Or is that a problem?"

"N-None whatsoever, Miyako," Sakumo said, backing up a few steps. The nervous smile on his face conveyed something other than fear. Relief, actually, when looking at it from up close. "I'm glad you're on the team."

Judai stared at them before chuckling. "That covers that part. And Minato, you already know my answer." He rolled his shoulders before punching his fist into his open palm, cracking the knuckles mid-gesture. "Screw retirement for one night. This got personal when the bastard targeted my hime. My  _daughter_  deserves a future without snakes."

Minato carefully got to his feet. "You won't go berserk on us?"

The response was a dirty look. "No. Am I  _that_  bad, Minato?"

"Yes," Wataru interrupted with a jab of his pointer finger in Judai's direction. "Rivaling Miyako-chan in her training moods." He paused before turning to grin at his wife. "Don't worry, you're just fine, Miyako-chan!"

"…Thank you, Wataru," Miyako slowly replied, but the wakizashi deliberately retreated back into her yukata sleeve with the words.

"Wooooow, what faith. Your words hurt, man." Judai comically gripped the front of his green flak jacket, leaning back in the mocking sense of being stabbed. "Then again, your wife does have me beat in everything."

Miyako inclined her head towards him, but smiled anyways.

"Hehehe…" Judai nervously trailed off before standing up straight and rubbing the back of his neck. It was probably the first time today that Minato saw him look so unsure. "But does that mean you're on the team too, Wataru?"

Wataru paused mid-hug towards Miyako, blinking before clearing his throat. "There's no choice, right?" His smile was hesitant, but confident all the same. "I'm in."

The sigh of relief was already escaping Minato's lips. "That's really reassuring. Thank you." He bowed his head again. "All of you."

"Oiiiii, quit bowing your head, it's embarrassing," Judai waved the gesture off, a slight shade of pink covering his face. If Minato didn't know any better, it could have resembled his daughter's usual expressions from the color. Then again, Tomoko-chan's habits had to come from  _somewhere._  "We all want to keep our kids safe. So," he cracked his knuckles again, "let's mess up some snake shit!"

Minato couldn't help but beam. "I'll call Jiraiya-sensei in too."

"That'll be some extra power we'll need," Sakumo added amicably, nodding his head. His arms were crossed against his chest. "Orochimaru won't be an easy opponent to take down."

"He's kinda one of the huge Juggernauts of the village for a  _reason,_  Captain," Wataru pointed out with a dry laugh. "We'll have to plan. Like, a LOT." He paused, rubbing his chin in thought before adding a timid, "Maybe we could plant lots of explosives and hope the backlash kicks his ass?"

Judai proceeded to turn his head away, doing his best to hide the sudden wave of boisterous laughter.

"So," Miyako interrupted quietly with a raise of her hand, inadvertently saving Wataru from a social situation, "is this all of the group? Or are there others you have recruited, Minato?"

Oh right. There was one other person that needed to come in. "There's Kushina, and one more." Minato carefully reached over to remove the privacy seals in time for wind to whoosh behind him.

"You called, Minato?" Owl's mother. She didn't refuse, thank god, and her guidance was a must considering the Third was planning his own assault with the rest of the main ANBU Black Ops.

"Yes," he said quietly, pocketing the privacy seals. "I did."

"What the—" Judai jumped back first, his hand already on the handle of his tanto. The others mimicked his movements, all wearing poker faces as to not give away their evident surprise. "Where did you—"

"The roof," the ANBU member replied tersely, shrugging a shoulder while extending a hand to show off the gloved nails. "It is a very nice vantage point to listen in when no one thinks to check."

"Everyone," Minato said with a step back, just for extra introductions. "Meet ANBU Operative Crow. She'll be our lead-in on the mission."

* * *

"…When I heard about you all guarding me, I wasn't expecting to find a cellar below my own house."

Kei huffed through her nose before lightly bopping the top of my head with the back of her hand. "Your dad is a ninja, Tomo," she chided, and even when I wasn't looking at her, I knew she was rolling her eyes. "Paranoia comes with the job description."

"Kei?"

"Hm?"

I reached over to lightly poke her cheek back. Petty revenge was not something I refrained from. And she was a dork. Sue me. "I don't know if that makes me feel any better."

Her black eyes softened in my direction as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Whoops. Sorry."

"Don't apologize and just stop trying to take up my habits. I'm bad enough." I held back a sigh once Kei shrugged her consent. Instead of entertaining that thought any further, I glanced around as Mama squeezed my shoulders. The cellar itself was rather nice for what it could be, being a large space that 20 people could file into. Plus it was big enough for said 20 people to still have moving space. And with our group having 9 in our ranks, there was more than enough space. With the various fuinjutsu lines covering the walls, the few chairs left around, and the table, it was nice enough to be livable. Almost.

"It kinda feels like a secret base, Tomo-chan…" Obito's eyes were glittering mischievously as he took a few steps before to dig into the area. "And this is all under the cafe too! Really cool!"

"Obito, I don't know if it's  _cool_  when it's just for emergencies…" Still, Rin-chan was smiling as she followed him around, her medic bag in hand. "Did you make this entire place, Hikari-bachan?"

Mama had wrapped her arms around my shoulders from behind, so I could feel her nod above my head. I didn't have the heart to ask her to let go. "Sort of. Judai had the idea, Rin-chan, back when we first made the cafe. We just never used it until now." Her laugh was soft, but obviously nervous as she squeezed me a bit tighter. "But it's not a place you thought to look for, right?"

"And it was  _right_ under Tomoko's piano too," Kakashi muttered, hand cupping his chin in thought. "To think that stage was so big to actually hold this place…"

I found myself gulping a breath. "W-We're going to be okay, right?"

Every single ninja in the area turned to look at me. The reactions were actually close enough to one another for me to classify them in one category. Surprised and "what the hell." It took a lot to not turn around and hide my face in Mama's shirt. "I-I mean, you all are essentially doing night stake out, there is just lots of dirt and wood around here, andwithsnakesbeingaproblem, Idon'tfeelthatgreataboutit, Imean, areyouallreallyokaywiththis—"

 **Honey.** Hisako bonked me first with a hand fan.  **Calm down.**

_T-Trying?_

**No,** my Nobody deadpanned with another gentle bonk,  **you're not doing a very good job, honey. Breathe.**

"Tomo." Yeeeeep. I probably should've expected Kei flicking my head too.

"Ow!" The pout was already forming on my face before I could think on it, because why.  _Why._ We were in what was technically an emergency fort, and Kei  _had_ to flick my head?! "Hey! What was that for?!"

"To make you stop worrying," was the retort, and Kei's shoulders drooped as a smile bloomed on her face. "We're all here for you, Tomo. Team Minato, Haa-chan, Otoha's team, Hikari-bachan." She poked my head with each subsequent word. "You're."  _Poke._ "Not."  _Poke._ "Alone."  _Poke._

I resisted the urge to bat her hand away. "Aye aye," was the only response I could give instead. It was quiet and not the best I could give, but it was something. There was no real way to deny that, or refute it. Kei was right. "I should take all that poking as your way of saying I should stop worrying?"

Kei shrugged. "Yep."

I was very much tempted to say, "I love you so much, Kei," because  _what_ would I do without her, but the nerves made those words stick in the back of my head as my mouth went along with the current roller coaster ride of tension. "So," my lips flapped instead, "should we do introductions for everyone else here?"

The two newcomers flanking our enby in question perked up once my voice reached their ears.

Kei made an understanding dismissive noise. "Whatever makes you feel better, Tomo." She glanced over the group before yelling, "Haa-chan, over here!"

"Coming, Sis!" was the happy voice, and then a stray Haya-kun showed up from around Rin-chan's legs. "I'm here!" he puffed happily, running over to promptly wrap his arms around his sister's waist. "What's up?"

"Just because," Kei snorted, patting the top of his head. She was certainly teasing now if she wasn't before. "You're too much of a brat to be left alone, anyways."

"Hey!" Hayate pulled away to pout, hands on his hips. "I'm good!"

Kei rolled her eyes and reached over to give a good-natured noogie.

"Aaaaaah, no! Stop that, Sis!"

Yeeeeeep, that was definitely a big fat "No" on Kei's part.

Above my head, I could feel Mama giggle softly. "Kids. Introductions?" In any other situation, I would've taken that. Except for how we ended up here in the first place and how Mama's voice echoed in this cellar. I don't think I ever heard her sound so gentle and  _hesitant_  before.

I decided to roll with it in the hopes of comforting her. "Aye aye, Mama." I patted her hands with mine softly, just as Hayate and Kei broke away from one another to glance over at the rest of the group. "Should I start?"

Kakashi nodded curtly in my direction, looking a bit stiff from the whole scenario, but still willing to go along with it. "You started it, Tomoko," he said quietly, raising a hand in the air once the others turned to focus on him. "Go ahead."

"Thankie, Kakashi," I replied gratefully. Then, letting all sense of formality fly out the window, I raised my hand in the air too and said in one breath, "Hello, everyone, I'm Hoshino Tomoko, your apparent client? And, uh. Welcome to the cellar!"

The new faces in the room, the new Uchiha and Hyuga boys, actually, were staring at me like I lost all their marbles. And they were both flocking near Otoha.

Yeaaaaah, let it be said social anxiety means making introductions short.

Mama cut in with a soft bonk to the top of my head with her chin. "I'm Hoshino Hikari, this little one's mother," she gently poked my nose, almost a silent reminder to calm down. "Also, your client for tonight's mission." I didn't miss how she turned her head to look at Kakashi, probably to continue. "Let's just go around like this? Then we can ask questions."

Kakashi sighed, as if he was resigned to it. But once Obito started glaring holes into his head, Kakashi raised his hand with a dry, "Hatake Kakashi, Chunin."

The rounds went around like that. I couldn't help but watch each person do their introductions, even if I knew them beforehand, and found myself blinking at each one. Each person had their own way of doing it, and before I knew it, a smile was starting to grow on my face.

There were new faces, but a majority of the people here — I knew I would trust with my life.

"Uchiha Obito, Chunin!" I didn't miss the bright grin in my direction. "We'll protect you, Tomo-chan! No need to worry with us here!"

The heat was flooding my cheeks just from hearing the dedication, so my response was instinctual. "I love you too, Obi."

Rin rolled her eyes with a smile as Obito flushed pink too and waved at me. "Nohara Rin, Chunin too."

"Gekkō Keisuke." There was a pause. Hayate nudged her with the back of his elbow, and she added on a drawl of, "Also Chunin. And this is my little brother, Hayate. He's still an Academy Student and I'm supervising him for Mom and Dad."

"Nice to meet you!" He chirped from his position of… well, he was essentially being used as Kei's armrest. Again. "And sis! Hands off!"

"Nope."

"SIS!"

A giggle left me before Mama lightly poked my nose to let the others continue.

Kuroha-san crowed a soft noise, something akin to a cat, before saying a quiet, "Kuroki Otoha. Chunin and ANBU operative."

I did not miss how Kakashi turned to look at them in shock. Otoha, whether out of social debuffs or what have you, didn't even seem to care, pulling out their fan to flip open and closed.  _Fwish, swish. Fwish, swish._ Probably as a distraction? "Enough about me, there's the others that need to talk first."

The other Uchiha in the room glanced at Obito in a stare that I wasn't sure was that of a glare or an inquisitive glance kind of thing, but huffed and puffed his chest. "Uchiha Katsuo! An Uchiha  _with_ the Sharingan, so don't worry, Hikari-san! You and your daughter will be safe with us!"

 _Uhhhhh._ I couldn't help but hope that Obi wouldn't react, but unfortunately, life didn't go like that.

"WHAT WAS THAT, KATSUO?!"

"IT'S THE TRUTH, CUZ!"

"I LOVE YOU TOO, CUZ, BUT THAT'S KINDA LOW?!"

"COMING FROM THE GUY WHO STILL HASN'T UNLOCKED  _HIS_  SHARINGAN!? PLEASE!" There was a pause and then Katsuo added an equally loud, "STILL LOVE YOU TOO!"

"UH," Obito faltered, blinking rapidly. "THANKS?"

 **Ugh.** Hisako said aptly, shaking her head.  **Family things. That doesn't include hugs and sweetness.** _ **Ugh.**_   **Too much yelling.**

_I don't know if this is a fight or just an overexaggerated family teasing session. Has Obito ever gotten a nice family member in his life aside from our friend group?_

**Don't ask me, dear, in this life, you're a single child. And Uchiha can be weird. And I think we established Kishimoto's writing otherwise being complete bullshit in not giving Obito any other friends. Maybe this is a fight to prove whose sword is longer? Or something else?**

… _Is there an innuendo I'm missing from you?_

My Nobody proceeded to turn around and whistle innocently.

Yep. Yep. I didn't want to entertain that thought. From the looks of things, no one else wanted to either, since Kei put her face in her hands as Kakashi went over to lightly smack the back of Obito's shoulder. Otoha merely had to make a dinosaur noise, probably a warning signal of sorts about the volume since Katsuo immediately calmed down as soon as it rang through the cellar, just in time for the last person to speak up.  _After_  he removed the hand from his face. That settled itself, thank god.

Though, maybe it was because everyone quickly noticed how my face started losing blood flow from the anxiety.

…Naaaaah. I wasn't that open, was I?

Still. The white eyes were telling of the Byakugan, and I tried not to stare too much as he spoke. "Hibiki. Hyuga Hibiki. Nice to meet you." He bowed his head towards us, and I couldn't shake off the feeling that he was closed off. Considering he was Otoha's teammate, I knew I could trust him, but there was something else about him that felt different from his Uchiha friend.

Or was it just me? This was the first Hyuga I was encountering in like, ever.

"Nonetheless," Hibiki-san crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes narrowed in that way that showed he was  _this_ close to activating his Byakugan, "what are we exactly guarding you two from, Tomoko-san, Hikari-san? This is not your usual mission considering we are hiding in your own cellar with the near majority of us being Chunin."

I opened my mouth, found my throat to be too dry, and closed it. "Um. About that."

"I think it'd be better for us adults to explain things."

Papa's voice. Coming from the… the cellar entrance?

Mama was already turning around with me, and my eyes landed on Papa's familiar two-toned brown hair. The bangs were pushed back from a worn down  _hitai-ite,_ and I found myself gulping.

Papa wasn't alone in his ninja gear this time. Minato-san, Miyako-bachan and Wataru-jichan, Sakumo-jichan, what looked like a younger Jiraiya, and an ANBU Black Ops operative with a Crow mask — they were all carrying weapons and wearing the most serious faces I had ever seen.

For the first time in a while, Hisako summed things up quite nicely.  **Things are going to shit.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes: Thank Os and Lang for giving the support for me to finish. Now to get to the inevitable fight scene…


End file.
